The Adventure Begins
by Nova Flame
Summary: Takes place on Earth during the 7 year period after Link pulls the Master Sword in Ocarina of Time. Several different crossovers introduced later. Starts slow, but gets better. Rating purely for caution.
1. Chapter 1

Before I forget...Disclaimer: I do not own anything from video games, T.V. shows, etc. The only things I own is this story and the original characters.

A/N: Hey everybody, I finally decided to post this story. It'll start out slow, but I promise (or hope) that it'll get better. I can't give anything away, but I think you'll pick up where I get my stuff. Anyway, enjoy.

By the way, this takes place, or at least starts, on Earth and not Hyrule. There was some confusion of this on the start so I'm adding this little side note.

"The Adventure Begins" Chapter 1 

The Great Evil has set its sights on universal domination, taking over all planets, galaxies, and even realms…

As that evil proceeds to set on the household of Noel Rivers, a former detective, he manages to escape before the evil could possess him.

Heavy with supplies, Noel heads to find a hiding place from his possessed family members. As he hides like an outcast he tries to think of a way to win back his home along with his freedom.

OOO

"Man oh man, what a night," said Noel stiffly, waking up from the tree he was sleeping in. "Sleeping in a tree is not the way to go. I have never felt more miserable in my entire life." The thirteen year old stood up and stretched. He stood about five feet even. He ran his hand through his thick, brown hair that was cut neatly into a short flattop and yawned. He wore an extra large T-shirt and some jeans. He wore some old tennis shoes that he had grabbed before he fled and a Timex watch around his left wrist. Most people that met him would say he had an even temperament that shone through his dark, brown eyes. Though he wasn't particularly overweight, he was a little husky. He wasn't athletic by any means and rather would sleep in when he could. "Well, staying around here and complaining isn't getting me anywhere. I guess I had better get going," said Noel, jumping down from the tree.

After Noel had eaten breakfast and changed, he headed to the other side of the woods, carefully crossing the street so nobody would see him. He walked silently through the woods, whispering to himself as he went along. "Man, what am I supposed to do now?" he asked himself, running his hand along the bark of a tree. "I've never had to do anything like this in my entire life. I'm barely surviving as it is!" He stopped and looked down at his body. His once flabby muscles had begun to grow and become more refined. _'Though I do have to admit that being out here has done wonders to my instincts.'_ He thought about home and how strange his mom had looked at him on that he had left. She looked like she was about ready to kill him. And the glare in her eyes! That alone could've sent him to the grave. He still couldn't remember though how he escaped. It seemed like a giant blur.

After an hour of walking Noel stepped on something round and hard. At first he thought it was just a rock, but when he looked down he found that it was an ocarina. It was beautifully crafted and painted an ocean blue. He played a couple of notes and found that the pitch was perfect and he figured it couldn't have been made too long ago. "I wonder who would be so careless as to drop something this valuable. It might come in handy so I'll hang onto it," said Noel delightfully. Though, he found it strange that an ocarina would be in the middle of the woods, he didn't hesitate to put it in his bag. Before he could settle it in, though, something strange happened, the ocarina started to glow and play on its own. After it finished, the tree next to him revealed a hole. When he looked in, he found that there were scrolls hidden in the tree. Even though written in a strange language they seemed to call out to him saying,

"THE ONE THAT WANTS TO CONTROL THE SWORD OF EVIL'S BANE, THE MASTER SWORD, MUST HAVE THE BALANCE OF COURAGE, POWER, AND WISDOM. ONLY THEN WILL THE MASTER SWORD CHOOSE THAT PERSON TO WIELD THE LENGENDARY BLADE. THE SAME IS DESTINED TO PROTECT THE UNIVERSE FROM GREAT EVIL. SEEK OUT THE PENDENTS. THEY ARE THE KEY."

When Noel was done reading, the scrolls disappeared but left a strange, green orb that was attached to a gold chain…the Pendent of Courage. The pendent was the first of the virtues the scrolls talked about and Noel knew he was going to be in for a bumpy ride.

A/N: Sorry this is so short, but they'll get longer as I go. Please review and tell me what you think. If you decide to flame, I ask that you please go easy. See ya.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's remotely recognizable to video game/T.V. characters, etc., etc. I do, however, own this story and the original characters.

A/N: Hey everybody, I hope to be posting every Tuesday and Saturday, but that's still up in the air. I've already had all this written out for years, but I'm reviewing it and changing it a bit from the original. Good for me and for you. Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 2

A week later, Noel found that he was running low on supplies and that more police cars were beginning to patrol the area. He knew that it would only be a matter of time, something he didn't have, before they would find him. _'Since I only have a garage door opener that I swiped before I left, the Pendent of Courage, and an ocarina, I won't stand a chance if people are there. However, if I go when the house is empty, I can sneak in, make a couple of sandwiches, set up something for a disguise, and sneak out quickly,'_ he thought.

Noel found an opening in the afternoon and put his plan into action. He was almost caught by an officer that was asking if he had seen the boy, but Noel got away because the officer didn't recognize him with his disguise, which consisted of a pair of sunglasses, a fake mustache, a mullet wig that he got at a carnival, and a dirty baseball cap that he got from a friend a long time ago. _'That was too close,'_ thought Noel. _'I don't know how I managed to squirm out of that one, but it's getting way too dangerous here. I had better move to a different location, and fast, before somebody starts to get suspicious. First, I'd better get a better-looking outfit. There's a good chance I might draw attention in this.'_

Noel was able to get into the northern part of Donnsville via the woods. "Boy, I am so thankful for these woods. I'm sure a store in the mall will hold some kind of cloak," said Noel. He inconspicuously walked out of the woods and cautiously crossed the street, casually walking behind trees and buildings to stay hidden. "It's amazing what a few weeks outside will do to your instincts," Noel said. When he finally got to the mall he wondered what store he should try first. _'Hmmm, maybe this department store will have some stuff that I can use,'_ he thought to himself.

When he finally got to the store, he started to look for a cloak, and he found one…a light brown one. They also had tennis shoes, but Noel knew he didn't have enough for them. _'Well, it's not much of an improvement, but at least it would help out better for night time travel,'_ he thought, ditching the mustache and mullet. Suddenly, he heard a scream near the back of the store. He quickly ran to find out what the problem was and peeked around the corner. He found three teenagers, presumably gang members from the way they were dressed, robbing a cashier.

"Hand over all the cash, lady, and nobody gets hurt," said one of them, brandishing a knife. His baggy pants sagged below his waist, but his extra large T-shirt covered his boxers. Noel decided to name this one Bags.

"And maybe if you cooperate, we'll give you something nice," the second thug said lustfully, eyeing her up and down. Noel's blood began to boil at this point. Nobody should ever talk to a lady that way! He deemed this dimwit "Sicko." He had a large metal chain slung over his shoulder and the ball-cap that he wore was on sideways. He had several piercings all over his visible body.

The third thug had said nothing, but was glaring menacingly all around to make sure nobody was watching. He was wearing clothes similar to the other two, if not a bit more conservative, but he had a couple of tattoos on his arms. He had a metal bat in his hand and was impatiently tapping it against the ground. Noel called him "Silent." The three began to advance onto the cashier and Noel knew it was time to spring into action.

"Hold it right there!" exclaimed Noel, jumping from his hiding spot.

"Who are you, the shrimp police?" Sicko asked sarcastically.

"No, but I don't have to be part of a police force to bring bozos like you down. So put the cash back where it belongs. Now!" Noel shouted threateningly.

"That's a pretty necklace," Silent finally spoke up. "How about we take it from you're dead corpse?" Noel took the pendent and placed it inside his shirt, barely noticing out of the corner of his eye that it was strangely glowing.

"If you three ding-dongs think you've got what it takes, then by all means bring it on!" Noel replied, standing casually.

"He's not taking us seriously. Let's show this punk who's boss around here," said Bags, as he lunged toward Noel with his knife. Noel, however, waited to the last second to dodge and countered with a swift knee to the his stomach and moved out of the way quickly as Silent brought the metal bat onto Bags's back. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye Noel watched Sicko swing the chain around and Noel narrowly was able to drop to the floor in time to see Silent get nailed with it.

"Come on, guys. Is that the best you can do?" laughed Noel, jumping to his feet.

"Enough of this!" Sicko cried out, pulling a handgun out from behind his back and cocking it. "I'm effectively going to ventilate you're smart-aleck head." Before a shot could be fired, though, Noel dove behind some refrigerators and began to run as several shots echoed throughout the store.

'_Well, if that doesn't get Security's attention, then I don't know what will,' _he thought, noticing from afar that the other two had regained their composure and that during the fight the cashier had fled in the confusion. He scanned the area quickly and noticed that everybody that had been remotely close to the area had fled once the trouble had begun. _'Well, at least I don't have to worry about casualties. Except maybe my own, that is.'_

The next thing he heard was Bags cursing. "Where'd that little twerp get to?"

"Spread out," he heard Silent say. "If you see him, shoot him. Be sure to keep an eye on the exits. Nobody gets in or out."

'_Great, they all have guns,'_ Noel thought. _'But one on one is fine as long I can in the first shot.' _He thought about that for a second and then chuckled inwardly. _'No pun intended, of course.'_

"Man, we should be ditchin' this joint," Sicko said. "The cops are gonna be here any second!"

"No!" Silent argued. "Nobody makes a fool out of me! That little freak is gonna die when I get my hands on him."

_'Come on, Noel,'_ he mentally prodded himself. _'There's got to be a way out of this. Think! If I can knock one or two of them out, then the last one is easy pickings. The question is, how do I get them far enough away so the others don't interfere?'_ He took a step back and almost knocked over a shelf of tools and suddenly an idea hit him.

He turned his cap backwards and placed his sunglasses in his pocket. He would need all the visibility he could get to pull this off properly. He picked up the largest wrench and used the other tools to set a quick trap as quietly as possible. _'Nothing fancy, but it'll get the job done,'_ he thought, glancing around the corner to find where the thugs were. _'Perfect. They're right where I want them.' _He used his thumb and middle finger to make a loud whistle. "Hey, dum-dums! I'm over here!" He made a face in their direction before ducking back into the aisle as a couple of shots echoed throughout the store. _'Okay, anytime the police want to show up would be fine by me.'_ He thought, standing at the end as two of the teens showed up with guns drawn. "Come and get me!" Noel taunted, turning the corner just enough to avoid any gunshots. As they ran into the aisle, Noel pulled two strings that had been previously hidden and the top shelves of tools tumbled down on the unsuspecting thugs, knocking them out cold and fairly injured. "Whelp, that takes care of…" He said dusting his hands off, and turning to find himself looking directly down the barrel of Sicko's handgun. "…that!" he eeped.

"I'm going to enjoy this," he cackled evilly, squeezing the trigger. At the last split second, though, Noel dropped to the ground and kicked the legs out from under the juvenile delinquent, causing the shot to hit the ceiling. Noticing a tool that hadn't fallen just barely dangling onto the shelf above, Noel kicked the wall and sent it falling straight onto Sicko's sensitive parts and causing extreme agony. Without missing a beat, Noel kicked the gun away from the teenager and another kick to his head.

"Somehow, I don't think you'll be making anymore sick threats to helpless cashiers," he said, placing a foot on Sicko's ribs and pressing down hard to hold him in place. Between the kick to the face and his southern hemisphere being in excruciating pain, he could barely nod in humble submission. "But just so the lesson is clear…" Without saying another word, Noel pulled him up by the collar of his shirt and delivered a fierce punch to the boy's face, knocking him unconscious. "…I don't tolerate that kind of garbage from anyone," he finished.

Less than a minute later the cashier arrived with almost a dozen policemen, but all they found were the three boys in a pile in the destroyed aisle. The cashier scanned the store for her savior, but Noel had disappeared completely. She looked down and saw a couple of bills by the cash register and a quick note scribbled about taking a light brown cloak. Outside, Noel peeked in to find the police had everything under control. Satisfied with his handiwork, he replaced his ball cap and sunglasses on his head and immediately set out for the woods across the street_. 'Oh well,'_ he thought, _'I didn't get everything I wanted, but I got the basics and that'll have to do for now.'_ He took a couple of steps and stopped, deciding to head to the grocery store down the street and pick up a couple of groceries before heading to the woods. _'Hopefully I get better service there,'_ he chuckled inwardly.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Since this story was originally divided into several separate stories, there'll be a lot of fight scenes. Hopefully I can keep them entertaining. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. I just ask that if you flame that you go easy.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing even remotely resembling characters or ideas from T.V. shows, video games, etc. I do own the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Hey, everybody, this is the third chapter of my first fanfic! I'm so excited! Unfortunately, I don't have any reviews yet. If there's anybody reading this, I'd be more than happy for you to review. So REVIEW!

Chapter 3

By the time he got his groceries, the sun had begun to set and he made his way carefully across the street to a small neighborhood amongst a forested area. _'This will have to do for tonight,'_ he thought tiredly. _'There're too many people around here, though. Anymore than one night and I'm sure to be spotted.'_ He found a fairly secluded spot and began to make himself comfortable, putting the cloak around his shoulders for added warmth against the cool, summer air, and his eyes fluttered as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Noel decided to explore the terrain to clear his head. He stretched and began walking before coming across a place with a great view of the lake. Noel sighed as he remembered all the good times he had before all the changes took place. He glanced to his left to find another wooded area not very far from where he was. "Hey, that area has a pretty deep ravine, so if anyone sees me it might take them some time to get to me, and by then I can be long gone," he said full of excitement. When he turned around and took a step, however, he fell into a secret grotto that he could've sworn wasn't there a second ago.

As he fell, he wondered where it was taking him. Much more, he wondered what he would feel like when he had finally landed. Fortunately, all fears dissipated when he landed into a soft, fluffy patch of grass. He found it a little unusual, though, that the rest of the grotto was desert-like. He looked toward the far wall and caught sight a strange scorpion statue…with a shiny, blue orb attached to a gold chain hanging from the gray stone statue's tail—the Pendant of Power! "This is too easy," Noel said to himself. As he stepped out onto the sandy floor cautiously he suddenly started to sink. "Quicksand!" he yelled. Just when Noel thought he was done for, he found he was on top of a huge scorpion.

The force of the throw, when the scorpion flipped Noel off its back, was enough for him to nab the statue by the tail. Noel quickly pulled himself up and seized the pendant, placing it around his neck. Once again, he noticed the slight glowing of the Pendant of Courage, despite the glow had disappeared the night before.

Noel, at first, thought he should try to escape, but that might lead it to the surface. _'I don't want anybody to get hurt, so I'm going to have to figure something else out,'_ he thought. As he was thinking, he noticed that the scorpion's tail was headed right for him and he jumped out of the way just in time as the force of the tail destroyed the statue.

Noel spotted the skeleton of a medieval-looking soldier that didn't make it through the fight, quickly rolled to it, and grabbed the sword it was holding tightly in its bony fingers. He waited for the tail to strike again, and as soon as it hit he ran up it and onto the scorpion's back. He started whacking it, but it didn't even make a scratch. "I have to find its weakness!" he said, leaping down and away from the gigantic creature. Just then Noel saw a flashing diamond on its forehead. Noel lunged for it, but was smacked away by the creature's tail. He got up and lunged for it again, but was once again knocked away. He lunged one last time and rolled at the last possible second as the tail flew over him. "Kiiiiaaahhh!" yelled Noel, pulling himself to his feet and lunging forward with the sword in both hands. The sword made contact and the scorpion went up into the air and dove into the sand.

He turned and walked away only for an earthquake to knock him down. He turned around to find the scorpion had resurfaced with a vengeance. "Okay, this is getting old!" Noel shouted, readying his blade. Once again, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the Pendant of Power had begun to glow and he felt an enormous amount of energy flow through his body and into his sword, causing the sword to spark with lightning. "Lightning Strike!" he shouted, effortlessly avoiding the tail and plunging his sword deep into the monster's forehead. The extreme energy drove his hands off the hilt and back to patch of grass. A moment later, an extremely large explosion rocked off the walls of the cavern, but the sword flew unharmed to Noel's side. "And stay down!" he gasped, grasping for the blade and slowly climbed to his feet. He looked around and found a large, rainbow colored tile rise from the grass under his feet, causing a mysterious power to allow him to float to the entrance.

A/N: Sorry if it's a little short. About mid-way they'll get much longer, I promise. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If I get SIGNIFICANT reviews I might be more inclined to update quicker. I'm about 7 chapters ahead of this so I can if I want. Anyway, see ya.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything coming from video games, T.V. shows, etc. I do claim the OC's and plot.

A/N: Still no reviews...I'm getting depressed. Anyway, enough of that. Read and review. By the way, I don't advocate you try any stunts that are in this story. You'll see why when you read on. So what are you waiting for? Stop reading this stupid note and read.

Chapter 4 

"What a morning," said Noel with fatigue, as the mysterious force placed him on his feet. "At least I got two prizes for defeating that thing: a sword and the next virtue in the scrolls…the Pendent of Power." After Noel finished gaining his composure and pulled his disguise on he headed for the ravine he had seen before his escapade, and as he went he silently wondered why it looked so familiar. When he arrived he found out why. "This ravine is right by the Smithers' house!" exclaimed Noel.

The Smithers were fairly close friends of his. Their family consisted of three boys: Tom Smithers, eleven; Matt Smithers, eight; and Stefan Smithers, six; one girl, Alice Smithers, thirteen; and the parents, Dr. Tom Smithers and Mrs. Jennifer Smithers. Noel had met Alice the summer before and had instantly fallen in love with her. Her personality; the way she conveyed herself; her beauty; everything about her held him captivated. Unfortunately, she didn't feel the same way about him. Or, at least, she didn't show it, though he did pick up on hints here and there. A couple weeks after he had met her he had made friends with the rest of her family. "I'd better move," said Noel, snapping back to reality and looking around. "I'm too vulnerable out here."

He slowly and cautiously descended to the bottom of the ravine and started to set up his stuff. _'I'd better scout out the terrain to make sure this is the place I want,'_ Noel thought. As he walked around, Noel decided to scout uphill, too, just in case. As he was scouting, he looked for all possible escape routes, such as ditches, climbable trees, and straight-aways. By the time he was finished night had already fallen. "Alrighty then, now that I've set up camp, the next area of business is finding the last pendent. Where could it be?" wondered Noel aloud.

While thinking, Noel decided to take a walk around the neighborhood, being the nice night it was. It was in the high sixties and a full moon was out and the stars were shining brightly. _'You know, if everything was actually normal around here, this might seem more relaxing,' _he mused, as he pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, hiding his face. Since the sun was no longer out, he had put away his sunglasses, but his cap still hung low over his brow.

"Hey, you!" yelled a voice from behind him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Stop!" Noel turned to the side saw a police officer calling out to him through the passenger side window of his car. Noel's first thought was to turn and run, but he decided to stay and see what the officer wanted. "I got a call about a suspicious person walking around here. Where do you live?" asked the police officer.

"In the neighborhood," he replied coolly and in his deepest voice.

"What's your name?"

'_My name?'_ he thought. _'Crap, I need a name!'_ He racked his brain for a quick solution and, suddenly, he saw it. "Ravine. Nova Ravine."

"Nova Ravine, eh? How about you hop in the back and let's take a ride to the station? I have a few questions to ask you."

"Fire away," Noel replied, wishing that he hadn't said those exact words.

"Just hop in the cruiser," he commanded with a more authoritative tone.

"Sorry, officer, no can do. Now if you don't have anything to ask me then I'll be on my way," he replied, turning to walk away. When he heard the driver side door pop open he started into a slight jog.

"Freeze!" the officer shouted. "You're under arrest!"

'_Over my dead, rotting corpse,'_ Noel thought, bursting out into a full-blown run. The officer was hot on his trail, but after a few weeks in the wild, his instincts had immediately taken over. _'If I go back to my hiding place, I'll definitely lose that advantage. However, how am I going to get this guy off my tail long enough to lose him?'_ He dashed into the woods and began zigzagging through the trees, hoping that everything the officer was wearing would slow him down. Fortunately, his maneuver had bought him some time, but his energy was draining quickly and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. After the last couple of days, his energy was completely spent. _'I've got one shot at this; better make it count!'_ He headed for a ridge that he had seen earlier and jumped off and hid next to the wall of dirt with his dark cloak covering him. With any luck, he would blend in with the shadows.

A couple of tense minutes later, the officer arrived and shined his flashlight around the dark area. "I know I saw him jump off here. Argh, I lost him!" He turned and headed back to his cruiser, Noel slightly behind him. "This is car ten reporting back to HQ. Suspect escaped, but I believe he lives in the area. Request backup to continue search tomorrow, over."

"Affirmative, car ten, return to HQ," came the crackly reply.

"Ten-four, over. Car ten out."

'_That was way too close for comfort,'_ Noel thought, leaning up against the tree. _'I can't stay here any longer. Too many people are looking for me. I'm gonna have to move on to a different city,'_ he mused sadly. He slowly and tiredly walked back to camp and immediately fell asleep in the hidden make-shift bed underneath a bush.

The next morning he woke up sore and hardly rested. _'Hopefully the Pendent of Wisdom is somewhere around here and that I can find within the next twenty-four hours,'_ he thought, pulling his things together and placing his disguise fully on again. He hiked up the slope cautiously to fully stretch out his sore muscles, when he heard he heard talking and laughter along with the sound of metal accidentally hitting rock.

He stood at the end of the Smithers' gravel driveway and looked around to see where the noise was coming from, just to find Alice and her mother working on their flowerbed. He stood there for some time, wishing that everything could be like it once was. "Mom, who is that?" Alice asked. Alice was about Noel's height. She was very beautiful, with flowing brunette hair that reached just slightly past her shoulders and greenish blue eyes. She had fair skin and an aura of curiosity that showed through her ever-present smile. He was wearing a pretty pink T-shirt and blue-jean culottes. It was no surprise where Alice got her beauty. Her mother looked very much the same way she did. She had long brunette hair that stretched to her shoulders, and was about half a foot taller than Alice did.

"I don't know," her mother answered curiously, but cautiously. She didn't seem particularly comfortable with a hooded stranger staring at her and her daughter. "Let's…see if he's lost and needs directions. He might be too shy to ask." Noel was still deep in thought when they started toward him. In fact, he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that they were headed right for him. When at last his senses came back to him, he realized he couldn't move!

"I'm…I'm paralyzed!" he whispered. He tried to run, but found that he still couldn't. He decided just to relax and go along for what was coming.

"Hi," said Mrs. Smithers when she got to him.

"Hello," Noel replied, slightly bowing his head in respect.

"Where do you live? I haven't seen you around lately," she asked.

"Around," Noel answered deeply.

"Please excuse us, we haven't properly introduced ourselves. My name is Jennifer Smithers, and this is my daughter Alice," said Mrs. Smithers, still a little unnerved by the mysterious stranger.

"What's your name?" Alice asked.

"My name? Sorry, but I don't really ever use my name. I'm just a lonely traveler. A wanderer, if you will," he answered, and quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, what were you doing?"

"We were planting flowers," replied Mrs. Smithers, agreeing to the change.

"Yeah, it relieves some stress," said Alice. Just then, Noel saw her drop her head down.

"Your daughter seems troubled, how come?" Noel asked Mrs. Smithers.

"Well," she said as she started to explain, "a friend of hers ran away from his home, and has been missing ever since. She's a little worried about him," she said and then added, "…we all are."

"Do you mind if I ask the friend's name?" he asked.

"Noel Rivers," Mrs. Smithers answered.

"I'm sorry for prying, but why did he run away?" Noel asked again.

"That's the thing, we don't know," she replied.

They could see a slight smile forming underneath his hood. "Don't worry," Noel said comfortingly, as he turned to Alice and put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure he'll show up." He wished he could tell her, but he knew it might put them in danger.

Suddenly, a loud roar came from the lake and the earth shuddered. "What's in the world was that?" asked Noel in terror, as he ran to the edge of the hill to see what the disturbance was.

"That's the lake beast. It appeared a couple of weeks ago. It shows up a couple of days and then disappears again. The occurrences are more random than anything. People want to sail, but everybody's afraid that it'll show up while they're out there." Alice replied.

"Can't anybody stop it?" he asked.

"There have been people who've tried, but everybody has failed," Mrs. Smithers told him. "It's invincible."

"We'll see about that," Noel said with determination in his voice.

A/N: By now you know the drill...read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from T.V. shows, video games, etc. I do own the OC's and the plot.

A/N: If anybody is reading this story, I hope you're enjoying it so far. I try my best to keep it interesting. The chapters are short, I know, but I promise in about another five chapters or so they'll double their length. Anyway, keep reading.

Chapter 5

"Listen, whoever you are, it's just plain insane to challenge that thing," said Mrs. Smithers.

"Regardless, I am still going to try, insane or not," Noel stated resolutely. "I'm going to need a boat, though. Now your either with me or against me. Which will it be?" There was a long silence before Mrs. Smithers finally spoke up.

"There's a boat at the bottom of the ravine. Let me go get the keys. I hope you know what you're doing!" she exclaimed. Noel nodded and told them not to worry.

"You're either very brave or very stupid," Alice said bluntly to him. She could see he smiled slightly at it. However, Noel hoped he himself knew what he was getting into. A couple minutes later Mrs. Smithers returned with the keys.

"Good luck, you're going to need it," she said, as he descended the hill and to the shack that held their speed boat.

Noel finally found the boat and soon got up and running. When he got out onto the lake, the beast had disappeared. Noel unsheathed his sword and stopped, but with the motor going. "Where is it?" he wondered slightly above a whisper. "Come on you overgrown sea serpent, surface!" Just then, he saw a massive tidal wave coming toward him. He put the pedal to the floor and just barely missed it. That's when he saw it…the gigantic lake beast.

The monster was about five stories high. Its eyes shone red and its fangs looked like ten butcher knives had all been placed into one fang. It had blue scales and one white streak going down its front. Its roar was like thunder.

_'Oh boy, what did I just get myself into?'_ Noel nervously thought, as his legs nearly turned to jelly. He readied his sword and headed straight for the beast. He tried a hit-and-run attack, but when the sword came in contact with the scales, there was a strange, clanging noise. "The scales are like metal!" Noel exclaimed in horror. After many other tries, Noel was just about to give up, until he crazily thought, _'If I can't damage the outside, why not try the inside?'_ He glanced back at it for a brief moment. _'Either way, I'm probably screwed._' Noel stopped the motor and jumped from the boat. He started to swim for shore to get the monster's attention. _'Come on,'_ he thought, _'seafood buffet, everybody's favorite.'_ When Noel looked back, sure enough, that thing was coming up right on his tail and it looked mighty hungry. Soon it was right on top of him. Noel stopped right then so the beast would be able to engulf him, and also to reduce the risk of having half of himself cut off. The monster swung its head back and let out a mighty roar. It then swooped down and picked up Noel and held him whole in its mouth. Noel used his sword so it would come between him and the teeth, because he did not want to get crunched as he fought his way down the monster's throat.

When Noel reached the bottom of the throat, he saw light. "Now I know how a cheeseburger feels. Anyhow, to more important matters, like what are lights doing down here in a monster's stomach?" he wondered. As he continued to explore inside the monster, he attempted to find a weak point, despite the constant movement that tossed him around a little. When he came up to the area where the heart was, though, he saw it…the Pendant of Wisdom, the final virtue. Though it was directly in the middle of the heart, the brightness of the ruby-red color shone completely through. "Yes! I've finally found it!" he exclaimed, running to it then just as quickly stopped. "Wait a second! The last time I underestimated the security around the pendant, I almost got myself killed. I'd better take it one step at a time." As Noel came within arm length of it, two skeleton-like creatures suddenly shot up from the floor. "What in the…? What are those things?" yelled Noel. They were dressed in a breastplate and each held a sword and shield. They didn't have eyeballs, but a small red dot of light in each socket pierced Noel's soul. "Come on, boneheads, let's see what you've got!" exclaimed Noel, as he drew his sword and readied for battle.

The first one ran in with its shield up as Noel lunged, but he used the shield as a spring and jumped right off it, and towards the heart of the beast. When Noel was in range, he snagged the pendant right from the heart. When he turned around after he had landed, he saw both skeletons charging at him. He rolled out the way and placed the pendant around his neck, noticing that all three were glowing brightly now. He only was able to look at them for a split second when he saw that the Stalfos, as the Pendant of Wisdom had imbued him with the knowledge of, charged at him once again. Noel just stood there, waiting for the right second. When they were in range, he jumped off the nearby wall so they would go headfirst into it. "Now to finish the job," he said as he repeatedly slashed at their open backs with his sword. When they got their heads out of the wall, Noel quickly sprang back with his sword ready. "I have a bone to pick with you two," he joked, as he put his sword out in front of him. When they took a step toward him, however, they fell to pieces and disappeared. "They went all to pieces over me, how sweet…not!" Noel said sarcastically.

Noel thought all his troubles were over at that point, but to his surprise, the lights suddenly went out. "Hey, who turned out the lights? I paid my electric bill," he slightly joked, confused and alarmed. When Noel looked behind him, he saw blue light coming from the floor. "How strange…" Noel's voice trailed off in a curious tone. Noel decided he might as well see what was causing it. He closed his eyes as the Pendant of Wisdom glow grew. _'It appears to be a portal,' _thought Noel. _'It looks risky, but why not try it?'_ He stepped into it with his eyes closed, and to his surprise, he found himself enveloped in a blue crystal that was taking him outside of the monster and landing him on the hill where he started.

When Noel turned around, he saw the giant beast blow up with a spectacular light show. "It was a robot!" yelled Noel. _'I can't believe it! It doesn't matter now, though; at least everything is somewhat back to normal, and I have the last pendant, and virtue, in my possession,' _he thought, holding the red orb in his hand. _'However, after that display, this place will be crawling with police officers and reporters in no time flat.'_

"You did well," said a voice from behind him, making him jump more than just a little but. When he turned around, he found Alice and Mrs. Smithers.

"Thanks," replied Noel somewhat calmly.

"I know this is kind of out of the blue, but why don't you come to dinner tomorrow night? To celebrate your victory. I'd like you to meet the whole family," said Mrs. Smithers. "Say, seven o'clock?"

"Um…sure. Okay, I'll be there," he answered.

"Great!" exclaimed Alice. "Come on, Mom, let's tell everybody the good news." With that, they left.

A/N: All I can say is: READ AND REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to T.V. shows, video games, etc. I do own the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Sorry the last couple have been a little late, the internet access has been a little shaky. Anyway, nothing special to say seeing I haven't gotten any reviews yet. If anybody is reading this, tell me what you think. Enjoy.

Chapter 6

_'Heh!'_ Noel laughed inwardly, as he proceeded down the hill. "A dinner with the Smithers; this is excellent! And for a bonus, I found the final pendant," he added, rubbing the ruby orb. When Noel got down to the bottom of the hill, he heard a strange noise, almost something only an animal could make. When he looked around, he saw a horse all saddled up and tied to a tree. It was a brown thoroughbred that already had a fully equipped saddle on it. It had a white streak down the front of its face from the tip of its nose to its forehead. _'That horse looks like it's been there for a few hours. I wonder where it came from?'_ he thought. As Noel made his way toward the horse, it started to calm down. "Easy, girl, I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly. As Noel untied the reins, the horse took an immediate liking to him. "How would you like to come with me?" he asked. To his amazement, the horse nodded its head. Noel got some food for the horse, because he knew it must be hungry after being tied up for such a long time.

After a couple of hours, Noel started getting tired, but he couldn't get to sleep. _'I'll play my ocarina,'_ he thought. _'It might just help me.' _When he pulled it out and was surprised he started to play a song that he had never heard before, the horse, which had been on the other side of the ravine, instantly came to him. What he didn't see, though, was the slight glow of the Pendant of Wisdom within his shirt. "Huh? You came as soon as you heard this song?" he said puzzled. After further experiments, Noel found it was true. It did come to the tune. "Well, I have been thinking about giving you a name. How about Epona?" he asked. Once again, the pendant glowed, but he was too busy watching the horse nodding in approvement. "Epona it is," Noel said joyfully. "I guess that means we should call this tune 'Epona's Song.'"

The next morning, Noel decided to ride Epona for a while so they could get used to each other. As he was riding, he noticed a strange looking cave. "That's odd, that cave wasn't there when I looked around. I wonder where it leads," he said curiously. "Epona, stay here, okay? I'll be right back." Epona gave a nod to him.

Noel carefully entered the cave, being ready for anything to happen. After a while of walking down a damp corridor, with his only light being some small candles that looked like somebody had put up recently, the dirt floor and walls slowly receded and changed into a stone hallway. However, the lighting was still the same and Noel glided his hand down the wall as he walked. Soon, though, he came to a door. "Hello, Alice in Wonderland," he said, as he opened the door. He was surprised by the change of surroundings. No longer was it like the wet cave behind him, or the stony hallway, but instead it changed to a temple-like structure, but still with little light. The walls and floor were still made of the same stone, but much more refined and cleaner. It was clear, though, that he was on a balcony, but with the insufficient light he couldn't find a way down.

Gathering up all his courage, Noel leapt from the balcony onto the ground level. When he stood up and looked around, he thought he saw something stuck in a stone pedestal in the midst of a small stage. "Could it be…? Is it…?" he wondered out loud, as he carefully stepped forward to see if it was what he thought it was. When he started to come upon it, he found it was a sword that was stuck in the solid stone. "It is! It's the…the…the Master Sword!" whispered Noel, full of enthusiasm, yet reverence for the holy blade. He stood on its pedestal majestically, as if calling for a hero to come and release it. It had a blue hilt that had three separate holes within it. It had a long, shining silver blade that was exceedingly sharper than any other sword that Noel had ever seen before. At that point, he also noticed that every step he took towards the Master Sword, the pendants that he was wearing grew brighter and brighter.

He stepped onto the pedestal and put both hands on the sword's handle. "It's time…" Noel said softly with his voice trailing off. Then with all his might, he hefted the legendary sword from its place. Suddenly, a bright flash lit the whole temple and the cave, revealing everything. "I can't believe this," he said in a half-shocked voice. "After all this time, I finally have what I need to complete my quest. Still, there is one more element that I need to finish the job, and that is…"

"Thou hast done well to get this far," interrupted a voice from behind him. As he turned around, he wielded his new sword so he was ready for battle. To his amazement, however, he saw a woman in a white gown standing before him. A gentle white aura shone all about her, and her blondish-gray hair glistened in its glow. The white robe that she wore sparkled as though the stars themselves were implanted in it.

"Who are you?" Noel asked.

"I am one of the guardians of the Master Sword," she answered.

"You mean there are more of you?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, "there are three other guardians." All of a sudden, the other three appeared. Each had a different colored robe on, but none any less magnificent. "Noel," started the first guardian, "thou hast been chosen to wield the Master Sword. There is not much else we can do for you except give you the powers that come with the sword. I shall teach you how to use the spinning sword technique." She sprinkled some powder on him, and suddenly he felt supercharged with power.

"Next, we shall give you the power of magic," said the second, third, and fourth guardians in unison.

"To do so, though, requires the power of the Mystical Armband. This armband with harness the power so you will be able to control it. In addition, I shall grant you the power to use Din's Fire. Din's Fire puts a dome of fire around you then goes in every direction as flaming fireballs," explained the second guardian. With that, she raised her arms and a scarlet orb dropped from the ceiling.

"I shall grant you the power to use Farore's Wind. Farore's Wind allows you to fly," explained the third guardian. When she put her arms up, a green orb dropped from the ceiling.

"I shall grant you the power to use Nayru's Love. Nayru's Love puts a protective shield around you, protecting you from all damage. It lasts only a few minutes, however, and you still will be knocked back," explained the fourth guardian. When she raised her arms up, a blue orb dropped from the ceiling.

"Your aura is strong, Noel. I believe that you can defeat the evil that plagues this land. You must! All life depends on your victory," the second guardian said.

"Our time runs short," said the first guardian. "Noel, we shall…meet…again." As soon as she said that, they disappeared.

A/N: READ AND REVIEW!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the OC's. Enough said.

A/N: Well, I hope everybody's enjoying the story. Sorry, there isn't any real action in this chapter. Basically just a little character development. Since I haven't had any reviews I don't have anything significant to write. Just read on and see what you think.

Chapter 7

"Wow, what a rush!" Noel exclaimed, still a little shaken from the experience in the cave that he was leaving from. "I wonder how long I was in there," he wondered, glancing at his watch. "Yow!" he shouted, "I only have two hours left before I have dinner with the Smithers! I've got to hurry and finish rounding everything up so I can leave town on time!" When he was done, he started to scatter the remains of his camp-sight so nobody would know that he had been there. "I'd better hustle," he said. "It's getting late and I'm sure they'll be expecting me soon."

After he was done, Noel started making his way up the hill. When he got to the door, he took a deep breath. _'Here goes nothing,' _he thought, as he knocked on the door. A second seemed like an eternity, but finally the door opened by a tall and slender man. He had brown hair that was slightly balding on top.

"May I help you?" the man asked. Before Noel could answer, a beautiful, young girl came and stood beside the man.

"Dad, this was the person that I was telling you about," she said.

"Oh, so you're the one who defeated that monster," he said, as turned to Noel.

"Yes, sir," Noel answered.

"Let me introduce myself, I'm Dr. Tom Smithers," said Alice's father. "What's your name?"

"Uh…" Noel said hesitantly, "I'm sorry, but I can't reveal that. Not yet, anyway," he answered with his head held low.

"I don't know…" he said suspiciously.

"Dad!" Alice exclaimed. "Please, just trust him. He did defeat the monster after all. He won't hurt us."

"Well, anyway, make yourself at home. Dinner will be ready in a little bit," Dr. Smithers said, still a little uncomfortable of letting a total stranger into his house.

Soon everybody was at the table. After a few minutes, Dr. Smithers noticed that Alice wasn't eating. "Alice, you haven't touched your food, what's wrong?" Dr. Smithers asked.

"I'm just worried, that's all," she answered.

"Alice, we're all a little worried, but not eating won't change anything," said their oldest son, Tom. Tom looked almost like his dad. He was almost a head taller than Noel and much more slender. And he appeared to be very intelligent, but without having a dippy look to him.

"I know, but…."

"Alice, don't worry about Noel. I know he's fine," Noel interrupted, before she could finish.

"Well, we all think he's fine," said their middle son, Matt. Matt was the same as Tom, but was shorter than Noel. He, too, had the same brown hair and slender body build.

"Yes, but I know he's okay," Noel answered.

"How do you know when nobody else does? As far as anybody knows, he could be dead!" she cried, as she tried to fight back tears.

"Alice!" her mother exclaimed.

"No, it's okay," he said, standing up and flipping the hood of his cloak off his head and removing the cap that hung over his brow. "I know, because he's standing right here."

"Noel!" they all shouted in unison.

"Listen, I know everybody was worried about me, and I'm sorry I couldn't let you know earlier, but I had to take all necessary precautions," Noel explained.

"I must call the police to let them know that you're safe and with us," Dr. Smithers said making his way toward the phone.

"No, you can't!" exclaimed Noel, as he stood between Dr. Smithers and the phone. "Nobody must know that I'm here. I must stay hidden until…" his voice trailed off. "Just, please, don't!" he said shouted, looking them each in the eye.

"Until what?" Tom asked, the first to break the silence that had formed.

"I've learned that it's going to take a lot of practice before I can skillfully use this," Noel replied, as he unsheathed the Master Sword.

"So? Why the sword," Mrs. Smithers asked.

"It's not just any sword," he replied. "It's the Legendary Master Sword."

"The what sword?" Alice said confused.

"The Master Sword," he answered. "The legend was lost to history, so not many people know about it anymore."

"What's the legend?" Alice asked.

"The legend goes like this," Noel started and the Pendant of Wisdom glowed slightly underneath his shirt. "Hundreds of years ago, in medieval times, a Great War broke out across this land. The evil powers were much greater in numbers than those of light. The powers of light decided to forge a sword of pure light. With the sword, they were able to fend off the attacks of the evil powers…for a time. However, the person who was chosen eventually died, and no one else was deemed worthy by the sword. They decided to put the sword in a now ancient temple, just in case when and if somebody would be worthy enough to wield the sword. But I have been chosen and now I have to train to defeat whatever this thing is that's come upon us. That's why I'm leaving town; to train with a friend. I'm sorry, but I can't reveal the location."

"Whoa, I have a few questions for you," Dr. Smithers said. "First, defeat what? What are you talking about? And why must you leave?"

Noel went through his whole adventure, from running away, about the pendants, about getting the Master Sword, and the remains up to where he was. "As for your third question, I'm putting you into too much danger if I stay. Besides, I must leave to train, so I can power up my skills," Noel said. "My friend is the only person I know who can provide the training I need."

"How will you get to where you're going?" their youngest son, Stefan, asked. Stefan was the youngest of the three boys, and was shorter than Matt. He had more of a blondish tint to his hair rather than the solid brown of the other two, but other than that he looked almost like his brothers.

"I'll go by riding Epona, the horse I told you about," he answered. "Speaking of which, I had better get going, it's getting late.

"Noel, wait!" exclaimed Alice. "Why don't you stay the night? It's dark out there, and there's no telling what could happen out on the road."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," Noel replied hesitantly. "As long as it is okay with your parents."

"Uh…sure," Dr. and Mrs. Smithers said in unison.

The next morning, when he got up, he found that everyone else was up and around. "Man, how long have I been asleep?" Noel asked himself aloud. "What time is it?"

"It's eleven o'clock in the morning," said a voice. Noel hopped up from the couch he was sleeping on and turned around to find Alice was standing right there.

"Please don't do that," he said half frightened and clutching his chest. "After what I've been through, it's not the smartest move to scare me."

"Sorry."

"Is it really eleven?" he asked. She nodded her head. "I'd better get going then," he said, strapping his sword to his back.

"Noel, please stay a little while longer," she said.

"Alice…" Noel started.

"Then at least stay for breakfast," she interrupted him.

"Well," he started, "okay. But that's it, got it?" She nodded contently.

After breakfast, Noel decided it was time to leave. "I just want to thank you for your hospitality," he said.

"Good luck," Dr. Smithers said as he shook Noel's hand. Noel nodded.

"Have a safe journey," Mrs. Smithers said as she also shook his hand.

"I will," he replied.

"See you, Noel," Tom said.

"I'll see you guys later," he said to Tom, Matt, and Stefan as he put his hand on each of their shoulders.

"Goodbye, Noel," Alice whispered, but just being loud enough for Noel to hear her.

"Alice, we're only saying goodbye temporarily. I'll be back, count on it," he said, as he wiped a tear from her cheek. He then gave her a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Don't worry, I will return. Just keep your chin up." He lifted her chin with his hand and looked into her eyes. "Besides, you can't get rid of me that easily," he chuckled. She gave him a slight smile and embraced him again.

"I won't forget you," she said, as she held onto him, and he nodded. "And, I'm sorry for how I treated you," she added in a whisper. "Don't you dare get yourself hurt before we can get to know each other, you hear me?" He nodded again, showing he returned the feelings she felt.

He opened the front door and pulled out his ocarina. "Goodbye, everybody," Noel said, as he pulled the ocarina to his lips and started playing "Epona's Song". In a matter of moments, his trusty steed was standing on the front lawn. "Come on, Epona, let's ride," he said, as he mounted up.

"Good luck, Noel!" Alice shouted from the front doorstep. Everybody watched him until he was out of sight.

Soon Noel was leading Epona through the open fields. Unfortunately, he couldn't get out of sight of the highway and it didn't take long before some police cars caught sight of him. He tried to shake them, but he couldn't so he decided to at least get on the highway and lose them in the midst of the cars. Epona was much faster than Noel had originally expected, weaving in and out of the cars with ease. They were easily going eighty miles per hour. _'What's that up ahead?'_ he wondered, as something in the distance caught his eye. _'It's a roadblock! Think quick, Noel!'_

"Epona, jump it!" he shouted. With all her might, she jumped over the blockade and started running again. "Good job, Epona," he said. A few hours later, Noel finally arrived at his destination. In front of him was a small building in the country. Nothing fancy, but the sign revealed that it was some sort of fitness gym. "Ah!" he exclaimed as he took in a breath of fresh air. "Finally! Didn't think we'd ever make it. Come on, Epona, we have work to do."

Noel knocked on the front door and waited for a few moments before a beautiful, young girl opened the door to a crack. She had natural green hair that stretched to her shoulders and curved off and a green headband tucked neatly on the top of her head. This was unusual in that the only people with green hair had to have theirs dyed. The green tunic with matching belt matched her green eyes and green nail polish. To finish her outfit up, she was wearing green leather boots that reached halfway between her ankles and knees. The only thing on her that wasn't green was her skin and the little ball of pink light that was hovering around her. "I'm sorry, but we're closed," she said, starting to close the door. "Come back tomorrow."

She stopped, however, when Noel said, "Saria, wait! This is urgent!" Saria had had many customers in the past, and she remembered all their voices over the telephone calls, but this voice sounded very familiar. She rarely trained the customers herself, so there was no way that anybody would know her from first glance.

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"I would know your face anywhere," he replied.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Noel took off the hood and cap and said, "An old friend."

"Noel," she said, "is that you?"

"In the flesh," he answered.

"It's been a long time."

"Maybe too long."

"What brings you here?" she asked. Noel went through the whole adventure, leaving nothing out.

"I need your help. Without proper training, my skills are useless," he said.

"I'll see what I can do," she told him.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months, with Noel advancing and gaining experience in his training ever so slightly. Finally, after three months of hard labor and training, Saria believed Noel had reached the peak of his skills, yet only one more thing remained. "Noel, the time has come for you to go. I've taught you everything I could, except…" she stopped.

"Except what?" Noel asked with curiosity brewing in his voice.

"Noel, I need to tell you something," she started.

"What?" he asked.

"A lot has happened since we've last seen each other. One change is that I found what my destiny holds. I am destined to guard this area in this realm and in a different one…my realm. The being that you told me about seems the same as the one that has disappeared from my realm. Noel, you'll learn more about your destiny too, and much more about what has happened to me in the past. Until that time, however, I can only grant you a gift that will be essential on your journey," she paused then continued. "This will probably be your most useful tactic that you'll ever use. I give to you the technique of the Light Beam. The Light Beam can penetrate even the strongest of evil's defenses. Be careful, though, because it'll drain a lot of your energy reserves with each use. Noel, the time has come that we must depart from each other, but our paths will cross again."

"Thank you, Saria," Noel said. He gave her a hug and headed for the door. He pulled out his ocarina and started to play "Epona's Song." "Come on, Epona, let's go home," he said as he mounted up and rode off.

A/N: It's starting to come to final stretch as far as this section goes. Like I said before, this fanfic was originally divided into 6 or 7 separate stories. Hopefully as it goes on it will get better. READ AND REVIEW!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the OC's and plot.

A/N: Hey, everybody! I finally got some reviews and I must tell you that I'm pumped! It's given me a lot to think about changing some things. Just to let everybody know, if something isn't immediately clear, just give me a couple of chapters and it'll most likely come up. Feel free to still tell me about it, but I like to let the background of my characters come gradually rather than all at once. I'll touch on some things at the end of this chapter so read on and enjoy.

Chapter 8

As Noel was riding back to Donnsville, he noticed that traffic on the highway was almost nonexistent. _'What's going on? Something's not right,' _he thought. When he got within sights of the city, he was shocked by what he saw. "The city, it's changed!" he exclaimed. "Let's go, Epona. We need to make sure nothing bad's happened to our friends." As he entered the city, he was surprised to see that it was totally deserted. "This is almost like that strange zone that Dark Gaia had my friends and I trapped in when I was still a detective," he said.

Looking around, though, he found several differences. Unlike his other encounter, the city was partially in ruins. Buildings were caved in, streets had enormous potholes and craters. Almost everywhere he looked there was some sort of devastation. Suddenly, he heard screams coming from his left. "Epona, go! This could be what we need to solve this mystery," he said. When Noel located where the screams came from, he found two young boys that were trapped by a Stalfos. Without thinking, Noel crouched on the saddle and held the reins in one hand and his sword in the other. "Epona, offensive tactics 1 and 2!" Noel yelled. She ran toward the enemy for a hit-and-run attack. Noel slashed at the Stalfos, which knocked it down. Like a flash of lightning, Epona turned around and started running at the Stalfos for another attack, but this time Noel leaped from the saddle with the Master Sword in both hands. He crashed right into it, turning it into a pile of bones. "Are you guys all right?" Noel asked, as he turned to them.

"Yes, sir," the older one said. When Noel stepped toward them, he thought he recognized their faces.

"Matt? Stefan? Is that you?" he asked.

"Noel? Noel!" Matt shouted. "Are we glad to see you!"

"What's going on here? Where is everybody?" Noel asked him.

"About a month after you left, strange creatures started to appear. They started to capture everybody, taking them off the streets and from their homes. Many attempts were made to stop them, but nobody returned. We were able to escape, but the rest of our family, they…they were captured," Matt explained.

"Do you know where they took everybody?" Noel asked.

"We followed them, but when we were on our way out of town to get help, we were almost caught by that thing," Stefan answered.

"Come with me," Noel said.

"Where are we going?" Stefan asked.

"You're going to show me where they took everybody, then I am getting you to safety," he replied.

"Uh…Noel? There is one minor detail that Stefan forgot to tell you," Matt said.

"What?" he asked.

"There is some sort of force field, we only got in range of the area," he replied. Before Noel could answer though, the pile of bones re-assembled themselves into the Stalfos. "Noel, watch out!" Matt screamed. Noel quickly grabbed hold of Matt and Stefan and moved out of harm's way. Noel charged his sword and slowly advanced toward the Stalfos. The Stalfos jumped toward Noel, but he let out his spinning sword technique, which turned it back into a pile of bones.

"Light Beam, now!" Noel shouted as he struck his sword into the ground. A column of light shot up from the ground and closed around the pile, turning it to dust. He removed his sword from the ground and found what Saria had said was right, the technique did take a significant chunk of his energy away. _'I'm going to have to use that sparingly, or else there could be trouble,'_ he thought and sighed, having the two boys mount up with him.

They made their way through the city until they got to where Matt and Stefan could go no further. "Noel, we've hit the shield," Matt said.

"All right, I'll have Epona take you to a nearby town," Noel replied.

"I'm sorry we can't be of much more help to you," Matt said sorrowfully.

"Don't worry about it," he answered. "You've done all you could; that's all I can expect."

After he saddled them up and watched them ride out of sight, he stood there and wondered why the area looked so familiar and why he was the only one to get past the force field. He hardly noticed the three pendants around his neck glow and resonate with the Master Sword as he stepped through the barrier. He looked around to see if he could find out where he was. "It seems there was once a sign here," he said as he examined a pile of rubble near some posts. "No way…it can't be…my neighborhood," Noel said, as he felt a chill go down his spine. The once beautiful neighborhood had become a place of destruction. The large trees had shriveled and died, as did the flowers. The houses had been turned to rubble, only a few still stood. The blue sky with the bright sun had been replaced with dark clouds. No longer did it seem that anything lived there anymore. Noel knew he had to do something before whatever it was that caused this did it to the whole world. "I am not positive where the headquarters of this thing is, but I have a pretty good idea where to start looking," Noel said. "My house."

When he got to his destination, he was shocked to see instead of a house, but a giant fortress. Though he could slightly see it from the entrance of the shield, it was much bigger than he originally expected. "Whoa, that's new," he said in awe. "I can't waltz right in there and expect to live, so I'll just have to think of another way. Hmmm…I've got it! I'll look for some sort of opening that leads inside." As he looked around, he found there weren't any air vents he could climb up to, but there was a trash chute. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he groaned, as he started climbing. The stench soon got to him. "And I thought I was treated like a piece of garbage before this whole debacle began. Man, the things I do to save the world, and what thanks do I get? Chances are…nothing!" he complained. Strangely, though, as he climbed a weird twinge of excitement mixed with fear coursed through his veins. Despite all the unbelievable experiences he had in his short life, this was by far the scariest. And yet, he still dove in without a thought of why.

Soon Noel was finally able to step onto solid concrete. After pulling off whatever garbage had stuck to him on the way up, he raised his head to find giant machines using bunches of raw materials. "What in the world…" he began, but was stopped by the sound of footsteps heading his direction. Without thinking, Noel quickly dove behind one of the machines. When he looked out from behind his hiding spot, he saw a person walking toward him. Noel tried to jerk away to another hiding spot, but to his horror, he couldn't. He frantically looked around to see what was holding him. He traced his cloak to a crooked nail. He tried to get his cloak undone, but his attempts failed. Noel looked behind him to find the person turning the corner. He struggled hysterically to get it undone before the person reached him, but to his surprise the person didn't pay any attention to him. "That's strange," he said, "but it's not like it's the first time somebody's ignored me." He quickly undid his cloak from the nail before anybody else came.

After awhile, Noel stopped to rest behind some crates. _'I've gone by a lot of people, but they've all ignored me,' _he thought. He quickly jumped up and looked behind him when he heard footsteps. At that point, his greatest fear was confirmed. "Alice, Mrs. Smithers…no!" he whispered. "Alice! Mrs. Smithers! Over here!" They ignored him. He stepped up to Alice and waved his hand in front of her face. Still nothing. He looked into her eyes to find a cloudy, dull stare_. 'They're in some sort of hypnotic trance,'_ he thought. _ 'This explains why nobody noticed me, they were all under hypnosis.'_

Just then, a voice boomed over a loudspeaker, "Attention, there is an intruder in our midst. I command you to find him and bring him to me."

"Wuh oh," Noel whispered. Suddenly, Alice turned to him and grabbed his arm with a tremendous amount of force he figured must've been due to the hypnosis effect. "I have to break free without hurting her," he said, applying force to a pressure point on her arm. After she had let go of him, Noel quickly leaped back from being grabbed again. "I'm guessing they don't feel pain, which means they'll do anything to kill me," he said, dropping into a fighting stance.

"Come quietly or we will have to get rough with you," they both said in unison, as they each pulled out a knife.

"Never!" he exclaimed. They lunged toward him, but he quickly rolled out of the way. _'I have to stop them, but without hurting them,'_ he thought, as he pulled out the Master Sword. Alice jumped at him, but he blocked her knife with his sword and lightly shoved her back while counterattacking Mrs. Smithers' knife. Alice quickly recovered and added her knife to the pile. _'Forgive me, babe,' _he thought, lightly kicking Alice in the stomach, causing her to fall back. In return, though, Mrs. Smithers was able to use her free hand to punch him hard in the face, making him drop the Master Sword. He used the momentum to roll to Alice and grab the arm containing the knife and twisting it behind her back as much as he could. Her body's natural reaction, regardless of feeling pain or not, could not hold the knife in that position. He shoved it away with his foot as far as he could and lightly pushed her the opposite way, causing to her to fall to the floor. He arched backwards to avoid Mrs. Smithers' knife and once again used the momentum to grab hold and throw her, causing her to lose her grip on the knife. _'Sorry,'_ he thought, picking up her knife and adding it to Alice's. _'I really hope they don't remember all of this.'_ He noticed Alice begin to get up, but before she could he had retrieved his sword and plunged it into the ground crying out, "Light Beam, now!" as a column of light enveloped them.

When it was over, Noel stepped up to Alice and looked into her eyes. The cloudiness had vanished. "Where am I?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Easy there, you both were under deep hypnosis," he said.

"Noel!" Alice exclaimed, as she put her arms around him. "I've missed you so much."

"Same here," he replied. "Same here."

"Noel, what's going on here?" Mrs. Smithers asked.

"That's what I'd like to know," he said. "Your sons said that you were taken captive so I came as soon as I got back to town."

"My sons escaped?" she asked.

"Matt and Stefan, yes, and they're safe," he replied. "Do you remember anything before you were hypnotized?"

"All I remember is being taken to this man in a black costume and something stuck to his head. There were a lot of other people there too. After that, however, I can only draw a blank," she replied.

"Do you remember the way?" he asked.

"Somewhat," she answered.

'_Hmmm…a man, from another realm, dressed in dark clothing, has something stuck on his head, has the power to call up monsters and hypnotize people,'_ he thought. _'I wonder…could it be?'_

Noel followed behind Mrs. Smithers as she took him to the place where they had been taken. Soon they got to a large, metal door. "Here it is, Noel. I wish we could do more for you," she said.

"Don't worry, you've done enough," he replied.

"Good luck," she said. He nodded, then turned to Alice, who had been close behind the whole way.

"Alice, if…if I don't make it, I just want to give you this," he said, as he gave her a hug. "Don't ever forget that I love you, Alice Smithers," he whispered.

"Be careful, Noel," she whispered back. As soon as they left, he turned toward the door and hoped he wasn't getting in over his head. Calling up all his courage, he put his hand on the door and started to open it, being ready for anything.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. My next one might take a while because I don't have it written out like I did the others. The next one will focus mainly on Noel's past and why he can do as much as he can do (especially why he reacts the way he does). Hopefully this will clear up some things.

**KyLewin:** Thanks again for reviewing. I know I already answered you about all this, but I want to get everybody up to speed. So here we go:

1. I know I should've added some detail of Noel's past. That idea crossed my mind and I was going to put in about 3 or 4 chapters that flashbacked to that time in his life, but I see I should've done it sooner. That I will change ASAP.

2. This does take place on Earth, but this is where it gets  
confusing. In about 4 or 5 chapters I'm going to introduce the idea of "Realm-hopping." There's a vague mention of alternate universes in the next chapter, but the full concept isn't until later. In between, though, Noel will have his first face-off with the Great Evil and you can be sure he won't come out of that fight unscathed.

3. On that same note, the Pendants did infuse him with their own unique ability and I'm glad you caught onto that. Once again, I probably should've made that clearer, but I was aiming for the reader to figure that one out on his own. I don't believe in giving my readers every answer for every action at that exact moment. Patience is a virtue. :) As for why he didn't question anything that was happening or why he seemed like such a natural at his abilities is because...I wanted him to be a natural. Just like Link can naturally handle a sword, I wanted Noel to naturally be able to handle any weapon in his hand. Part of this is explained in his past and I'll have that coming up pretty soon.

4. As far as the sea monster not disturbing over-all life, yeah I  
kind of botched that too. I thought about that later and that's  
another thing I need to change. I am trying for realism as far as  
reactions go. Once again, Noel's strange courage toward the monster is due to the Pendant of Courage and really he thinks about it after he dives head first into the situation. I like to think he's me, only a lot more athletic and heroic. As far as him fighting against the cop, there are some lines I just don't think should be crossed. Assaulting an officer is one of them. (Running from one isn't much better, but this was a big change from what I had it before. I originally had it so that the cop would believe the pitiful excuse that Noel gave him and leave, but that was boring and unrealistic so I changed it.)

5. Jumping back to the Realm-hopping idea real quickly, I was  
originally going to cut Epona and the Ocarina from the story, but I figured I could still use the Ocarina and I needed some sort of  
transportation for Noel since he couldn't drive a car and it was too  
far to walk (though I could've done that, too, but I didn't want  
meaningless fights in the story). And he would've turned down the Smithers taking him had they asked because that would've put them in needless danger. You might be able to tell that Noel is a kind of do-it-himself kind of guy. But I digress. Anyway, unless I find some sort of use for Epona, she won't be showing up again. Also, notice some of the differences that the Master Sword has. I'll be addressing those much later, but it's good to wonder about it and see where I take it.

6. Further along the Realm-hopping idea, I'm taking several ideas and mixing them together. Though "Zelda" is kind of the beginning theme, it's not the only one I'm mixing in. I'm kind of hoping people will be surprised by the elements I use.

Sorry that this is all a little scatterbrained. Hopefully all will be revealed in due time. All I can say is to watch and wait. I will have sub-chapters between my normal ones that reveal more and more about the characters.

One last thing, Noel seems to have figured out the villain. Have you?


	9. Memories of the Past Part 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Hopefully this chapter clears up questions about Noel's past and why he can do the things he can. There will be more chapters like these that will shed light on the gaps of time between certain chapters (this will show up within the next couple of chapters). Sorry this took so long. Between school, preparing for the summer, and all around just being burned out, I've been running at probably a quarter of my ability and I didn't want to purposely put out crappy material. Hopefully you enjoy this. I expanded the original I made when I was in fourth grade and weaved it in to be part of the main storyline.

Memories of the Past (part 1)

He opened the door only to be met with a long, dark corridor dimly lit by candles that lined the walls. He took one last, longing look at Alice before stepping through. As the metal door clanged shut behind him, fear mixed with anxiety. He had faced several such challenges as a child, but never before had they held such magnitude. The monster, for lack of a better word, before him showed immeasurable power. To take over and destroy an entire city without causing a world-wide panic had to count for something. He walked down the hallway semi-confident, memories of his childhood flowing into his brain with every step.

_It was a cool night in Donnsville. The name, or rather my alias, is Reeves. Noah Reeves. I'm a detective. A nine year old detective to be exact. How could a nine year old become a detective, you ask? Honestly, that's a mystery to myself as well. Me! A detective! Maybe that's why I've chosen this path; to find answers about myself. For as long as I can remember I've been the adventurous type. For some strange reason, though, it's as if jumping into what could be called "adult situations" comes as naturally as walking. Sure there's fear and worry, but you learn to overcome it quickly because in the heat of battle there is no time to think, only act. Anyway, I guess only time will really tell, so on with my story._

_As you might know, the Green Emerald Ring is in the ancient Tower of Babel. You say you don't know? Well, they say that hundreds of years ago a Great War broke out. A war that pitted magic with a dawning age of technology. The magicians, seen as the villains, were intent to keep their mystic ways. They probably would've succeeded, if not for some of the magicians not seeing eye to eye with them. The good magicians, white magicians I guess you could call them, created several artifacts that helped the Industrialists to fight back. Though I haven't taken a look at the legend recently, I believe it was a sword of some sort. Well, the black magicians would not be outdone. They forged an emerald ring that could control one of the most powerful forces in nature: a Chaos Comet itself. It was summoned in the final battle and nearly wiped out the forces of good, and mutated the rest. However, the comet was not a respecter of persons and the black magicians were wiped out completely, caught off-guard by their own super weapon. With the remaining forces, led by a hero of the white mages, the Industrial Revolution occurred. Unfortunately, there was one small side-effect left by the summoning of the comet. Though the comet never hits the Earth, when it comes close its deadly power kills and mutates like it did so long ago. According to history, it appears once every one hundred years. Though it doesn't affect the whole planet at once, the aftermath more than makes up for the initial damage. _

_Though all of the black mages were supposedly wiped out, a rumor arose after the first return that a descendant of a black mage had found a way to control the comet once again. Though not a pure-blooded mage, the emerald ring had been passed down through his family line for generations. Unfortunately, when he found the remedy to eliminate the comet, the time had drawn near for its return. Its power was already beginning to manifest itself in the hearts of people. Before he could put his remedy to the test, men crazed with the power of the comet caught and killed him. Nobody really knows what happened to the ring afterwards. A rumor recently has arisen the last few years that some jungle natives found it and placed it in their temple for worship. A lot of people try to go get the ring, but they have never returned._

_That night, as I was sorting through some of my files on other cases, a girl came to me saying her father was lost looking for the ring. Normally this would be a job for an adult, but she specifically said that she felt I should take it. She stood a little less than five feet tall, about my height. She had beautiful wavy brownish blond hair and glasses that brought out the beauty in her emerald green eyes. Ironic in that that was the type of ring I was looking for. I knew the girl, Holly Shill was her name, very well. After all, she was in my fourth grade class. Even a detective has to go to school. I looked up at her and told her I was on it. Before she left, she informed me that the last contact they had had was a couple of weeks ago in the form of a letter. It had been an update of the expedition, which would come in express mail every week or so._

_An hour later another girl, Lauren Styles, also a friend, came into my office telling me her father was lost looking for the ring. Whereas Holly and I had seen each other in school since pre-school, Lauren and I went back even further. We had been friends for as long as I can remember. Anyway, what kind of friend would I be if I turned her down? I also told her I was on it. Something bothered me, though, their fathers never struck me as the adventurous type. Why would ordinary people look for a long lost ring? Not that I totally disbelieved the legend, but it was just that: a legend. I looked at my records and supposedly the last return of the comet was almost one hundred years ago…in one week! My mind immediately went into overdrive. If the legend was true and the comet was returning, the effects would be devastating, but would also answer a lot of questions. I straight away headed out and to ask the girls for clues as to where their fathers were last seen. There was no time to lose._

_I walked out of my little office on the third floor of the building the police let me use, down the flight of stairs, and out the front door. Since I had solved many dangerous crimes for them, they felt it was necessary that I had somewhere to run my operation from. It was a blessing and a curse, though. Even though I had somewhere to place to organize my files, it was definitely the seediest building in town. And the fact that I had numerous enemies from my cases didn't help much, either. I turned the corner and bumped into someone. I immediately jumped to my feet, ready for a fight, but I noticed it was my assistant, Jordan Ferber. Jordan had helped me on some really tough cases, and this by far would be the toughest. I would need another person to help get all the information needed. I quickly filled him in on everything, and he agreed to help me. Since he was also in my class with Holly, he went to talk to her while I went to Lauren._

_As I talked to Lauren, she showed me several maps that her dad had been looking at for the past few months. We pinpointed that the last point of contact was just outside of a jungle in South America. Supposedly, a large Aztec temple was still intact there and that was where the ring had ended up residing. Afterwards, I met up with Jordan and compared notes. Undoubtedly we needed to go to this temple, but the problem was in how. How would we be able to find a ride that could get us to the temple is little less than a week?_

Noel smirked as he ran his hand against the cold stone walls, remembering how he and Jordan had finally pulled it off. It turns out that his late-father had willed his plane to Noel's older brother. Unfortunately, it was never used and was about to be sold. Consequently, because of the lack of use, it had become a little worn down. That didn't stop the two of them, though. They just did what they could to fix it up and tried taking off. Unfortunately, neither had flight experience and right over the jungle the engine went kaput on them. Seeing no other alternative, they bailed out with parachutes, watching as the plane crashed deep into the dungeon. _'We were in trouble enough by the FAA for getting into the McGuiness Book of World Records for most flight regulations broken, but crashing the plane only brought more grief from our parents,' _he thought. _'The only thing that really saved us at the time was the fact that we'd helped with so many cases. Still, if the police would've just given us the ride when we asked, that whole mess could've been avoided. We even proved to be right about our assumptions in the end.'_

_Consulting the map and notes the girls had given us, we determined we were only a few miles away from the temple. Too be honest, we were scared out of our minds. Granted we had fought together many times and overcome odds a normal person never would imagine, but here we were, two completely unprotected nine year olds in a large jungle and only a few hours until dark. Sucking in our fear, we determined the quickest course to the temple, and headed in that direction, or rather the direction we hoped was the right one. Fortunately, our instincts rang true and soon we were standing at the steps of a large Aztec pyramid, golden in color, but an aura of evil surrounded it. Though large, the trees around it were larger still and easily hid the temple from view from any high above. _

_Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small jeep parked not too far from the steps. Before climbing to the entrance, we decided to investigate the vehicle. It hadn't seemed to be sitting there more than a few days, so we had to be close. Cross referencing our notes and the contents inside, there was no doubt that this belonged to the missing fathers. Evidently, they had met up and traveled together._

_We took a breath, and though hesitant, began to climb the steps of the gargantuan structure. When we finally reached the top, and needless to say, out of breath, we saw a large doorway inviting any who were foolish enough to venture in and be devoured by the inky darkness. Something else caught our eye, though. Beside the entrance was a shiny ball of light floating in the air. We neared it cautiously and when we were only a few feet away it opened up into what seemed to be endless space. Blue tiles floated at the opening of the portal and entranced us to step on them. Surprisingly, the tiles did not shift, and we stood there, spellbound by the sight all around us. It actually seemed like we were standing in the middle of space, with the stars themselves moving all around us. Suddenly a voice echoed through the darkness and our attention was drawn to the figure at the other end of the tiles._

_She was tall and slender, wearing a long, flowing purple dress. Her skin was slightly tan, but it went well with her deep brown eyes, and black and violet hair which went a little ways past her shoulders. We stood there staring, not knowing what to do about her. Our minds were put at ease immediately, though, as her gentle voice touched our ears once again, assuring us everything was okay and that her name was Gaia. Unfortunately, that wasn't all she said. Almost in the same breath, she uttered a warning that we shouldn't have come. She could detect great power from us, but the danger for children was too great. I calmly informed her that the danger otherwise was even greater. She didn't like the answer, but Jordan chimed in that we might be the best chance the planet's got right now. It would take too long to assemble a formal team._

_Without another word, we walked out of the portal and into the tower. Little did we realize traps were planted all over the place, and immediately we were assailed by arrows shooting out of the wall. The first one zinged by my head, and we dropped to the ground and began crawling and rolling like crazy to the end of the long corridor before us. We leaned up against the wall in the next room to catch our breath. We looked at each other and nodded, both agreeing that we needed to be more careful otherwise we might end up like so many others. A terrible thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it away. There was no way that those fathers could be dead. For the sake of the girls, we had to bring them back alive. _

_We rose to our feet and opened the creaky, metallic door and stepped into a gigantic room with two rows of pillars. After the first couple of steps, the door we had passed through seemingly slammed on its own accord. Immediately the floor began to shake and once again we were scrambling fearfully for our lives as the pillars began to fall two at a time. I felt myself hit a wall and fall to the ground and covering my head with my arms, praying that it would be over soon. As suddenly as the shaking began, it fell away just as quickly. There were small rumblings as the remaining rocks from the pillars fell to the ground and as the pillars themselves rolled around a little. After I coughed some dust out of my lungs and cleared some air for me to breathe I called out for Jordan, ignoring my own condition. I heard a small cough to my left and I staggered over to where he laid. Besides some scratches, bruises, and aching muscles, he was fine. I found that I was the same way. Ignoring the pain and slight amount of blood, we made our way to the exit that had been knocked open by the earthquake._

_We had taken no more than a step into the next corridor when a pillar of fire shot out of the opposite side and went into the previous room. Whoever made this temple was not taking any chances on the security of this treasure! Fortunately, after the last two traps, our instincts and nerves were on full alert and we had dropped to the well-acquainted floor once again, feeling the full force of the searing heat on our backs. _

_Personally, I officially was scared to death. I had been through some dangerous things before, but I had some sort of protection at that point. I had nothing this time and we hadn't able to really rest at all since we had entered the temple. Gaia wasn't kidding when she told us it was dangerous! As soon as the fire subsided we jumped to our feet and ran as fast as we could to the source of the fire, despite our senses were screaming to flee from the cursed temple. _

_It wouldn't have mattered, though. The door behind us slammed shut again as soon as the fire subsided and the only way out was to keep moving forward. We assumed that the door would open again for the next blast, but we wouldn't be able to make it through before the fire could swallow us up. What we didn't realize, though, was that every time the door closed behind us, the traps would reset as though some mystic power was setting them up for the next fools who would dare try for the treasure._

_The corridor was longer than we had anticipated and after a couple of minutes another wave of fire roared through the hallway. Again, the searing heat was almost unbearable against any skin that was exposed. Any closer and our skin would've blistered. We repeated the procedure almost two more times before we reached the super powered flamethrower. Unfortunately, it was blocking the door we needed to make our escape. Even more unfortunate was that we were pretty much running on fumes by now. Our energy had been drained completely from dodging so many traps, not to mention the injuries we had sustained from the last two. We could feel the blistering heat gathering again, and we dove to the ground off to the side of it as it let out another strong wave of fire. When it finally subsided a final time, we decided to use the last of our remaining strength to try and push it away from the door. At first it didn't budge, and we were afraid it would fire again before we could escape. Finally, though, we got some momentum going and we were able to push it out of the way and escape through the door as another strong blast of fire shot wildly through the hallway. _

_We slowly took a couple of steps to the side and dropped to the cold, stone floor again. Not in survival, but to rest. The door unsurprisingly slammed again and we heard a grating sound as the flamethrower again placed itself in front of the door. A cloud of defeat loomed over us as our exit was sealed. If there was no other exit then we would be trapped here forever. After a few moments our eyes became accustomed to the darkness once again since the fire had nearly blinded us as well. Much to our dismay the room had no other, at least visible, exits. On the bright side, though, an altar caught our eye. And upon it…the Green Emerald Ring! A small ray of sunshine shone through the roof and upon the altar. Our eyes danced as we gazed at the dazzling emerald carved and placed delicately in a strong golden band. _

_We shakily stood as we helped each other up. We were about to walk toward the ring, but we felt this was way too easy. With all the security measures thus far, there was no way it could be the end yet. We had no choice, though; we had to risk it. I took the lead as we began crossing the room, keeping our eyes out for anything that would signal a trap. Unfortunately, I didn't see the hidden floor tile that activated a trap door underneath my feet. Before I could fall too far, though, Jordan's quick reflexes caused him to catch me, almost pulling him along with me. As I took a quick peak downwards, all I could see was the inky blackness that threatened to shallow me whole. Using every ounce of reserves that he had, Jordan pulled me back up onto solid ground. After catching our breath yet again, we finished crossing the large room, and amazingly without any other incident._

_We climbed the steps to the altar and were grasped in awe as the ring almost called out to us. We circled the ring, admiring the handiwork that was put into it. I carefully removed it from the altar and warm sunlight, slipping it into the small sack that I had brought. I barely noticed the faint glow it gave as it hit the bottom, as it quickly faded away. We braced ourselves for the activation of another trap, but nothing came. _

_I was about to descend the steps when I felt a tap on my shoulder, causing me to jump. I turned to see Jordan with his back partially towards me, but his hand was still trying to get my attention. I stepped up to him and looked in the direction that he was looking. He pointed to some strange markings on the wall behind the altar on the ground level. Since the distance between the altar and the ground wasn't very far, he jumped to the ground to get a closer look, and I followed in suit. I stood back as he ran his hand across the symbols and muttered under his breath. Since his forte was languages, I let him do his work. _

_When he finally finished, I asked him what it said. Without saying a word, he brushed past me and examined the base of the stage of the altar. After a few moments he found what he was looking for and pushed a small, hidden button, causing a hidden stairway to reveal itself on the back of the stage. Unlike all the other rooms in the temple, the stairwell had absolutely no light whatsoever. We checked our backpacks, but the flashlights we had been carrying were totally useless due to the extreme beating they had taken from the overall trip. Though torches were few and far between, we grabbed the nearest one, once again bracing ourselves for a trap, and headed cautiously down the stairs. Taking one last look back at the altar, I noticed that the sun was not shining as brightly as it had when we had entered the temple. Night must be setting. I was afraid what might happen if we had to stay the night in this temple._

_The stairs seemed to go on forever, but we soon hit the last step. From above, we could here the door slowly slide shut again. There was no turning back. The air was thick and musty, and the light from the torch only revealed a long, dark tunnel. Seeing no other option, we followed it. A little ways down I noticed an opening in the ceiling. Figuring that since we were heading back towards the opposite side of the room up above, the hole must've led to the trap that I nearly fell into. Hopefully this meant that we were heading for an exit of this cursed temple._

_The tunnel seemed to go on forever, but there had been no twists or turns so we had to be getting close to the exit. Because of all our running above ground, we never did gauge how big the rooms really were. The only other option was that we were somewhere below the temple and jungle floor, in which case, there was no telling where or when we would surface. _

_Soon, though, a small light appeared at the end of the tunnel, followed by a blast of cool, refreshing, fresh, jungle air. It was a good thing, too, because the torch Jordan was carrying was beginning to fade. We began running towards the exit, barely noticing two men lying up against the wall semi-close to the exit, but still enough in the dark to be missed. Jordan brought the torch close to their faces to get a good look and one reacted to the heat. Surprised that he was still alive, I checked his vitals while Jordan checked the other man. With a sigh of relief, they were both still alive, albeit very, very weak. The man who had reacted to the torch slowly opened his eyes and tried to tell us his story. All I could make out at the moment was that he was Mr. Shill and the man lying beside him was Mr. Styles. We had found the girls' fathers!_

_After tending to the many wounds the men had on them, Mr. Shill explained how they came to that point. After dodging the many traps, they had come to the final room. Like Jordan and myself, they didn't get away from the traps without some injuries. Unfortunately, they let down their guard and fell through the trap door, injuring themselves even further. Mr. Styles had a broken leg so the journey through the tunnel had been extremely slow, not to mention that their supplies had dwindled nearly to nothing on the long trek. Dehydrated, hungry, and heavy in despair, Mr. Styles had lost consciousness and Mr. Shill was about to give up all hope just before we arrived. We gave them what little we had left and after a couple hours of rest, Mr. Shill had enough strength to stand. It took all three of us to carry the still-unconscious Mr. Styles out of the cave, but we were relieved to find the cave didn't exit too far from where the men had parked their jeep. After carefully laying Mr. Styles in the front seat and splinting his leg, we climbed in the back and Mr. Shill drove us back to civilization._

_We managed to get Mr. Styles into a hospital and we checked into the nearest hotel. Well, hotel is a bit of an overstatement. The thing was the best we could afford, but it was still a rat trap that wasn't very accommodating. We were lucky to have running water. Fortunately, the hospital was better off so there was no worrying how Mr. Styles was to end up. _

_The next morning, after we had all cleaned up and eaten, we pulled Mr. Shill aside and showed him the ring. We knew time was of the essence and in only forty-eight hours the comet would make its deadly appearance. He commented that through his study, he had noticed that one other piece was necessary to activate the ring's reverse effect…the power of a White Mage, or in this case, a descendant of a White Mage. He went on to say that the Black Mages could only summon, and it would take a White Mage to reverse the process. Our hearts sank. There would be no time to find one at this juncture. However, he mentioned something even more interesting. He said that before the ring would only react to the touch of a Mage, whether White or Black. Mr. Shill knew he was a descendant of the Black Mages, but he didn't know of anybody of White blood. I didn't hear anything else, though, as the rest of the world began to be drowned out by a small voice in my head calling out to me._

_Strangely enough, as if on instinct, I pulled the ring from its bag and looked deep into the center of the emerald. Once again, as if something or someone was guiding my hands, I slipped it onto my ring finger and it immediately conformed to a perfect fit. I didn't notice the surprised looks my friends were giving me, as my eyes were totally transfixed on the ring. Strange words were going through my head. A chant of some kind. If I had been able to look in a mirror, I would've surprised myself that my eyes had glazed over and my mouth had begun moving to the words in my head. Soon sound was added to the mouthing and my feet carried me towards the door. The whole experience was strange in that it felt like an out of body experience. I was watching my friends approach me, but it was as if a barrier separated them from me. I watched as I held the ring to the sky and was almost yelling the chant over and over. A green wave of energy shot from the ring into space. Suddenly, I no longer could see myself, but I was in outer space. I witnessed the beam collide with the comet, knocking it off its course and crashing into a nearby star, never to be seen from again. And then all went black._

_I woke in the same hospital we had admitted Mr. Styles into. Jordan gave me the whole story, but I tried explaining that I had also seen the whole thing. Emphasis is on the word tried. I didn't quite understand it myself, nor what caused the chain reaction. A detailed study of some space charts from Mr. Shill would show that the comet was nowhere to be found, though it had been there before he had gone on his expedition. The fact that it never showed up was proof enough it was gone, but one needed hard evidence that it had existed in the first place._

_'Only a handful of us knew of the comet's existence, so there was no public recognition. Even the government had to have known, but they kept everything so hush-hush that a celebration would only have caused some privacy issues from within,' _Noel thought, continuing to walk down the hall, growing anxious with its length with every step. _'Only later, with the vague information that Saria gave me, would I realize that the White Mages was the same race that made the Master Sword. The White Mages and the Guardians were one people, just different names. It turned out that I descended from a Guardian, though my bloodline had been heavily diluted in the last couple centuries. It was that little bit of blood, combined with my extreme emotions at the time, that triggered a reaction between myself and the ring. Mystically enough, though, the Master Sword had renewed my blood, giving me the full blood of a Guardian.'_

Finally, after all his walking, another metal door came into view. As he laid his hand on it, a wave of evil energy could be felt through the cold, hard metal. "Let's see what's behind door number two," he said, slowly opening the door to find…

A/N: Hope you enjoy this cliffhanger. Not very dramatic, but I like the effect.

This isn't it, though. There is at one more viewing of Noel's past before he meets up with the Great Evil. I hope this clears up the whole question about Noel being a detective, though. I didn't mean for anybody to be left in the dark, but I like it when people can pay attention and connect the dots by themselves. Example, pay attention to the next couple of normal chapters because they'll explain why people aren't reacting like normal people would.

Also, you might notice the reference to the portal is the same as a portal from _Illusion of Gaia_ for SNES (I do not own the rights to the game). I had to have a little bit of creative liberty on the description of Gaia because I didn't like the idea of a talking statue. Instead I tried to take the description from what she would look like in _Captain Planet_ (also do not own).

There is one other part about Noel's past that's still left unsaid, but I don't know if I'll go there as thoroughly as I did this one. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. I value any comments and questions you have. READ AND REVIEW!


	10. Memories of the Past Part 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the OC's

A/N: I'm not updating as quickly for a few reasons. Because of finals and summer school classes, I'm pretty burned out. And since these flashbacks are being written almost from scratch, the inspiration isn't coming as smoothly as I'd like it to. I'm picking up again and I'll be back to the original chapters after this. There are some more gaps, though, but I'll fill them in as time goes on.

Because of elements beyond my control (mainly computer issues), I'm going to switch my updating to a more irregular basis. I don't like doing this, but it's better in the long run and it'll hopefully give out a more satisfactory story. I'm going to post Chapter 9 with this one since I've left everybody in suspense of the villain for so long. Now, without any further ado…

_Memories of the Past (part 2)_

…A long, wide, winding staircase. In the middle of which was a large, red carpet that clung neatly to the steps. Noel took a deep breath. _'This could take a while,'_ he thought, looking up the stairwell. Unfortunately, it ascended into darkness, with no end in sight. _'Nothing like a little anxiety to make life interesting.'_ As he took the steps one by one, he kept his eyes out for any traps that might await him. As he walked, his mind wandered back yet again to his younger years and to another memory that would signal the start of his journey.

_It was a cold, winter night. The bed was cold. The cell was cold. And even I was cold. You're all probably wondering what a Private Eye is doing in prison, especially since the last time you saw me, I was saving the world. Well, that was two years ago, and a lot of things can change in that amount of time. But don't write me off yet! I'm not a criminal; I was framed! Honest! Let's see if I can explain it, and you can be the judge._

_It was in December. It had been an unusually warm winter and there was a thunderstorm that night. Nothing major, but the rain was pouring and the thunder clapping like never before. The sixth grade, my class, was up to sing in our school's Christmas program. Everything was going just fine…until disaster struck! Right in the middle of a song a particularly loud clap of thunder sounded. The lights went out and all pandemonium broke loose. Kids started screaming, parents tried to maintain control of the younger kids sitting next to them, but all to no avail. I was in the choir loft at the time, trying to keep my wits about me. After all, I'd been in worse scenarios. But then again, I'd never been trampled by dozens of my peers. _

_After a couple of minutes the lights came back on, and the aisles were full of disoriented people. "Where is Mr. Smithers?" somebody shouted, causing everybody to look up at the platform that now was full of panicked kids. Nobody could answer. Before chaos could break loose again, I managed to pull myself up from the ground and assure everybody that I was on the case. _

_I went back to my office to check my files on Mr. Smithers. Sure he had been my choir director for the last two years, but that didn't mean I knew the guy that well. After I looked through the file, I called up Keith Morningstar and Brent Miles and asked them to come down to the office ASAP. My former partner, Jordan Ferber, moved away shortly after our case with the Green Emerald Ring, but Brent and Keith were there to pick up the slack. There was a case about a year ago that we ran into Jordan again, but other than that I mainly keep up with him through letters and the sort._

_As soon as they arrived we set off for the school. I had been given a key before I had left so we were able to get in effortlessly. We stepped through the double doors to our left as we walked in and headed down the side aisle of the school/church auditorium. The school's auditorium was the same as the church's sanctuary, which made sense since the school was an extension of the Baptist church, which I had happened to grow up in. Consequently, I knew every nook and cranny of the building. The auditorium was configured with five different sections with several rows of wooden pews with green cushioning that matched the green carpet and was positioned in a fan shaped setting. Above the choir loft was a baptistery that was, of course, full of water. I always had a funny mental picture of the glass breaking and all that water dumping upon the choir members during a service, but that was just me. From the congregation's point of view, on the floor on the left side was a grand piano; on the right was an electric organ._

_Stepping up the side steps of the platform, we looked around the stage for any signs of a trap door, but there was nothing in the carpet that indicated such. Suddenly, a brick with a note attached crashed through a stain glass window, scattering glass everywhere. After regaining our composure, I rushed to the window to see who the culprit was while Brent and Keith carefully untied the note from the brick. It simply stated:_

_WE HAVE THE DIRECTOR. IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE HIM ALIVE AGAIN, COME TO THE OLD FARM ON THE OUTSIDE OF TOWN. ALONE. AND UNARMED._

_I quickly sent Brent and Keith back to the office to locate the farm while I studied the surrounding area. Whoever did this had to have left some clues. Suddenly, though, a squad car pulled into the parking lot, shining headlights into my eyes and the flashers alternated red and blue through the dark night. Two officers climbed out and pointed their pistols directly at me. As a reflex, my hands shot up into the air. One came up and roughly threw me to the ground, naming off my rights as he cuffed me. As they tossed me into the back of the car, they charged me with the kidnapping of Mr. Smithers and claimed they had evidence of the premeditation of the crime. I wisely kept my mouth shut for the rest of the trip and prayed that Keith and Brent were in no way involved in this mess. I didn't doubt their innocence, but I needed somebody on the outside to figure out what was going on. I wasn't interrogated, but I wasn't given a lawyer or a phone call either. 'Very unusual behavior,' I thought to myself. I was going to say something, but I thought just to play the scenario out._

_A couple days later I was at trial, if you could call it that, for the alleged kidnapping. Once again, though, I found it unusual it was open and shut. The so-called evidence was presented and witnesses for their side falsely charged me, but I couldn't defend myself. The next thing I knew, I was thrown back into my cell from before and given five years in prison. It was almost as if the whole thing was being controlled just to get me out of the way._

_'That's why I didn't go to them this time, either,'_ Noel mused. _'I just couldn't take the chance. They wouldn't have listened anyway. They would've taken me back home and kept a close eye on me. No, if I had any chance to figure a way out of this mess, I had to deal with this on my own.'_

_Which brings me to my current state. A wave of self-pity washed over me as I lied there. 'Why is it that every time I try to help, it blows up in my face?' I asked myself. I wanted to just give up. I tried to keep my hardened exterior intact and take this all in stride, but it was a difficult task. This was the worst experience in my life, and I was scared senseless. I'm only eleven years old, but I've been tried as an adult criminal and now I'm sitting in prison. Images of my friends and family flashed in front of my eyes as my resolve returned. No, I had to figure a way out of this! 'I can't just let myself give up. I may be afraid, but courage isn't the absence of fear, it's getting up and facing it!' Sure, that was an optimistic approach, but thinking it and doing it were two entirely separate things. _

_As I lied back on my cot, my mind raced furiously trying to figure out how to escape. I wanted to do it the law's way, but if something was controlling the system, I had to solve this case and clear my name. I sat up and leaned against the stone wall, scanning the room for any possible tool to use. After awhile I began to get restless and tried readjusting my shoulders to get comfortable. I felt a slight give to my left and reached up with my hand to find a loose brick. I worked at it for a few minutes, occasionally looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody was watching, but I couldn't pry it loose with my bare fingers. They had taken my pocket knife from me when they threw me in, so that possibility was out. I scanned the room again before laying eyes on the mattress. It may have been a rather stupid idea, but I didn't have a choice. With all my might, I tore into it and forced out a couple of the springs. 'For a loose stone, this had better be worth it,' I thought, trying to stabilize the coiling metal to be solid enough to get a good grip. Somehow, I managed to wedge the metal between the brick enough to slide it out a little with my fingers, almost breaking off my fingernails in the process! _

_Behind the brick, I found a small slip of paper that outlined a map of the facility. Evidently, the last occupant had figured a way out and decided to be kind enough to help out any who befell the same fate as he. Following the sketchy instructions, I pulled back the rug in the middle of the floor that I had trampled on so many times already to find a solid slab of concrete. I double checked the map just to make sure, but it was indeed the spot of the hole that I needed. Making sure nobody was coming, I got down on my hands and knees to inspect the floor and I found a hairline crack in the cement that neatly made a square. Despair almost reached me again as I realized that I wouldn't be able to so easily pry my fingers into the crack this time, but I quickly shook away the feeling and glanced back at the directions. It instructed of a small makeshift key attached to the bottom side of the cot and on how to use it properly. It took a little doing, but with some trial and error, I managed to remove the slab enough to slide into the hole. Of course, before I did that I had to maneuver the rug so it would fall onto the slab so nobody would be alerted of how I escaped. Confusion and lack of direction are some of the most crucial tools in a proper getaway._

_OOO_

_"Hey, Brent, check this out!" Keith exclaimed, barging into the office and handing Brent a newspaper. "Look at the headline." Brent put down the papers he was working on and glanced at the headline. _

"'_Jailbreak at county jail. Choir director still missing. See page three,'" he read aloud. _

"_Keep reading; it gets better," Keith stated. Brent quickly turned to page three, and began to read again. _

"'_Noah Reeves breaks out of jail, supposedly armed and highly dangerous. If seen, please call the police at once. Up to one thousand dollar reward.'" He stared at Keith in almost disbelief. "Can't say I put it past him, but the question is, where is he now? It's been almost twenty-four hours."_

_As Keith shrugged his shoulders, I suddenly burst into the room. I looked like I had been, excuse the terminology, through hell itself. My face was dirty and my clothes were a mess, filled with dirt and leaves. My brown hair was soiled with dirt and extremely ruffled. "Speak of the devil," Keith said. "How'd you manage to pull this stunt off?" he asked, handing me the paper. I only glanced at it for a second, and then waved it off._

_"We have more important things to do," I told them. "Someone or something is controlling the legal system. If we can't stop it at the source within the next twenty-four hours, we'll all be up a creek without a paddle. Me for this supposed kidnapping, and you guys for harboring a criminal. Did you guys figure out where the farm was?"_

_"Yeah, about five miles southeast of town. It might take twenty minutes from here by car, but because of everything that's happened, securing a ride will be difficult," Brent said._

_"Don't worry, leave that to me," Keith chimed in. "I have connections that owe me."_

_"Just be careful," I warned. "We need to show up alone for anything to work, and we don't want to put anybody in any needless danger."_

_"Yeah, yeah, I know," Keith quickly assured. "The innocent citizen's safety is the most important thing. You only beat into our heads every other day."_

_"Just making sure," I said with a smirk. My face tightened at my next thought, though. "We also need to be careful because we don't know who we can trust. Anybody who knows us could be working for the police. It's doubtful, but we can't rule out the possibility." I looked at them, and they agreed with me with a slight nod. "So who's our lucky candidate?"_

_Keith and Brent looked at each other and smiled, which, needless to say, didn't exactly put me at ease… _

_OOO_

_"I can't believe you," I said to Keith, as I sat between him and Brent in, of all things, a hearse. "Of all the assignments, you just had to have a connection with a funeral parlor. I sure hope you're not suggesting something."_

_"Sorry, it's the best I could come up with on such short notice. It's better than walking, isn't it?" he asked sheepishly, but almost amusedly. I looked at him blankly for a moment before shaking my head._

_"I just hope we don't actually need it," I said almost in a whisper. I had meant for it just to be said in my head, but the others knew what I was thinking and feared the same thing. We were walking into heaven-knows-what, unarmed, and practically announcing our presence. If this wasn't one of the craziest things we had ever done, then I don't know what is. _

_About a mile off, we could just see the farmhouse. It was a simple, two-story house that needed a new coat of paint. The windows were boarded up, though, signaling that it hadn't been used in ages. The dark brown barn not far from it was in equal disrepair, and I was surprised that the wind itself hadn't knocked it over. The fields around it were full of weeds and it was strange that anyone would let such good land go to waste. _

_I noticed Keith tap the driver on the shoulder so he could let us out about a half-mile away. We had decided beforehand to walk onto the property rather than fully announce that we had arrived. No doubt that whoever was running the show knew we were coming anyway, but we were going to try anything that might give us the upper hand. Before the driver took off, we gave him instructions to bring the police here if he didn't hear from us in a few hours. Maybe they would be some help this time. _

_There wasn't anything around to hide behind, so we walked boldly, yet carefully, onto the property. As we got closer and closer to the house, we could almost feel an evil energy radiating from the structure. We knew immediately we weren't up against normal criminals. In fact, the last time we had felt this much evil energy was on our last case. "It's quiet," Brent whispered, breaking the tense silence. "Too quiet."_

_"You don't think they're waiting for us, do you?" Keith asked, almost rhetorically._

_"Is the sun hot?" I replied sarcastically. "Keep your guards up. There's no telling what we're walking into." The moment I said that, though, the front door creaked opened, allowing us to peak into the inky darkness within. We looked at each other uneasily. Without a shadow of a doubt we had lost the element of surprise, and now we were playing on their turf with their rules._

_"Well, we're not solving anything by standing out here," Brent said, a slight anxiety in his voice, though he tried not to show it. My hands were sweating as I clenched them into fists and nodded. I took the lead, followed by Brent, and then Keith covering the rear. We hadn't taken more than a couple of steps into the house, though, when the door slammed shut behind us and the floor gave way, dropping us into the middle of a long corridor. If the chute that we had fallen through hadn't been more than a giant slide, we could've been seriously injured, but we were able to quickly, yet slightly painfully, pull ourselves up and dust off. _

_The first thing we noticed was that the corridor branched off into three different directions. Though it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, we decided to split up. Unlike the house above, the hall was well lit and gave the appearance of an underground base. Unfortunately, there was no way of telling how big the base really was. "Here," Brent said, reaching into his pocket. "It's not much, but I managed to bring these along." He handed us each a small walkie-talkie. "Hopefully they'll work down here."_

_"Don't use them unless you have to, though. No point in shouting out our position, although I have a feeling they're keeping tabs on us anyway. Let's go," I said, in almost a defeated tone, but Brent put a hand on my shoulder and I quickly pulled it back together. "Well, if nothing else, let's give them one heck of a run for their money." We took off down our separate halls, guards up and ready to fight._

_The hall seemed to go on forever, without any side passages or doors or anything. Occasionally it would take a curve, but that was the only indication that I was staying in the general vicinity of the farm. Eventually, my mind began to wander to other things. 'I wonder what's come over me lately,' I thought, not noticing the dark figure following me. Later I wondered how he got behind me, but for the moment I was too involved with my thoughts. 'I've never had a problem keeping my emotions in check. I guess it's just the stress that's getting to me.' The business had seemed unusually slow recently and I had thought about shutting it down. Granted that would put Brent and Keith out of a job, but they had hinted several times about having a normal life. 'Normal,' I thought with a slight smirk. 'Just what is normal anyway?'_

_I couldn't answer my question, though, as my mind snapped back to the real world and to the heavy footsteps that followed me. I hesitated, but that was a mistake for it gave my stalker the indication that I knew I was being tracked. Before I could even turn around or take another step, two big, bulky arms wrapped me in a bear hug and lifted me off the ground. I tried to squirm and struggle to get free, but his grip was like steel, which wasn't surprising when I looked down to see his arms were made of metal. I looked up into his face to find it partly robotic, the gleaming redness of a cyborg eye peering seemingly into my soul. _

_He carried me effortlessly down the hall until we reached a hidden doorway. We continued down a long flight of stairs, where at the bottom was another cyborg. From the looks of him, he seemed to be the boss character. I suppose, though, cyborg would be a very loose term here. In actuality, I could only discern part of his face was human. The rest of his body was completely made up of cybernetics. It wasn't anything I had ever seen before, though. As he walked towards me, I could tell he had the fluid motion as does a snake in the grass. Anything a normal human could do, it appeared that he would be able to do it also. He wore dark, navy blue battle armor with orange lining. One of his arms seemed to be able to convert into a cannon of some sort for battle purposes. Everything else, though, was a cluttered mess of wires and robotic devices. One thing could be determined, though; he wore a wickedly apparent smirk upon his dark face. "So, this is the mighty detective that's come to save the day," he mocked, his face coming within inches of mine. I looked at him fiercely, ignoring all cries of my brain to register fear. He took my chin in his hard, metal hand and brought my eyes to look directly into his dark, cold, black ones. "Not feeling so high and mighty now, are we? I know all about your reputation and how you saved the world. I can't have you and your little nosy friends interfering, now can I?" He turned his back and I once again tried to struggle to get free, but was held tightly. _

_"You seem to know a lot about me, but I haven't the slightest clue who you are. You'd think that the biggest walking can opener would get a little publicity. Maybe in the freak show of a circus, perhaps?" I smirked. A quick slap to my face made me regret the smart comment, though. _

_"After I'm done with my initial business, I'll be sure to torture you nice and slowly. Then we'll see how much of a smart aleck you can be," he threatened with an evil laugh. "Yes, we'll get to know each other real well then. Throw him in the dungeon, and then capture the others! We have a deadline to keep, and the Master will not be pleased with tardiness," he ordered. He took a step away, but then stopped. "Oh, and before I forget…" He reached into my front pocket and removed the walkie-talkie I had placed there earlier. "I can't have you warning your friends, now can I? Don't bother asking how I knew; I have cameras set up all over this base and watching every move that's made." With that he turned on his metallic heel and walked off._

_We descended several floors underground and wound through many corridors. It became so confusing that I gave up on keeping track of how to get back, if I managed to escape. 'Stop that kind of thinking, you imbecile!' I chastised myself. 'You have to think positive or else you'll never get out of here alive.' We finally reached a large room containing several cells. There were simplistic in that they had metal bars, and of course no windows. It's kind of hard to have windows who-knows-how-far underground. The walls were made of solid, gray steel. There was another cyborg guard on duty which opened the cell door, and with one mighty heave-ho, I was thrown onto my rear in the dreary cell, feeling like I broke something in the process. _

"_Gee, this looks familiar," I sarcastically quipped, rising and rubbing my rump. "Couldn't I at least get a slight change of decor?" The guard left without so much as a word and it seemed like hours before the main door opened again with a heavy clang. I rose to my feet in time to see the cell door swing open and two more bodies landed on the hard concrete. "Fancy meeting you guys here," I said half-jokingly. _

"_Couldn't let you have all the fun," Brent said, continuing the false humor._

"_Um…I hate to break this little get together up, but does anybody have a plan to get out of this mess?" Keith asked, bringing us back into sobriety. We slumped against the wall as hope began to fade away. The cell was sealed tight to ensure no intruder would escape. Fleeing would be difficult indeed. Hours seemed to pass as I meditated in an Indian-style position and Brent and Keith went about their hundredth game of rock-paper-scissors. _

"_Ha! I win again!" Keith claimed victoriously, pulling out a scissors to Brent's paper. Brent shook it off with a slight hint of irritation._

"_Man, how are we ever going to get out of here?" he asked despondently. I peeked through one eye as he leaned up against a corner of the cell. "This bites!" He turned quickly and gave the wall a swift kick out of anger. Surprisingly, though, the wall gave way a little. Naturally, I sprung to full alert and joined the others._

"_The structural integrity is extremely weak here," Keith observed. "Brent, if you and Noah put your weight into it, it might topple."_

"_And do what; put us right into the next cell?" I asked with a little bit of skepticism in my voice._

"_If nothing else we may be able to draw the guards in here and ambush them somehow," he suggested. I shrugged my shoulders. It was worth a try, I guess. I nodded over to the Brent and we pushed with all our might. It didn't budge much, so we then tried to tackle it. With our combined weight, we got more than the desired results. Not only did the whole wall come down, the hinges holding our cell door broke off under the pressure. We heard a key slide into the far door leading to the main hallway and I quickly signaled the others to hide. I dove to the side and behind some debris, catching a large piece in my hand as I went. Two cybernetic guards marched in, absolutely no emotion to be read on their faces. They scanned the room and headed for the open cell. As the second guard passed me, I used every ounce of my energy to bring the debris onto his exposed head, toppling him to the ground. Immediately, the first guard spun around and was poised to attack, but was quickly disconnected by Keith._

"_And you learned how to do that where…?" I asked, pleased, but surprised that he would be able to do such a feat that quickly._

"_Hey, I have to have something to do in my free time, so I read up on mechanical things. I didn't quite have this in mind, though," he replied. He looked down at the second guard and disconnected him as well. "It won't kill them; just deactivate them for the time being."_

"_We'd better get moving," Brent prodded. "No doubt more are on the way." I nodded and led the way down the long hallway, but we took a side path so we might be able to avoid some detection. Soon we reached a long stairwell that went both ways. _

"_Which one do we take?" Brent asked. _

"_We need to get topside and regroup. Let's try the one going up," I replied. When we started going up something started coming down. It appeared to be a floating skull that was surrounded with blue fire. We didn't want to risk a face-to-face encounter so we took off in the other direction._

"_Mechanical guards! Strange monsters!" exclaimed Keith. "What is this place?"_

_We skipped steps as we went, but with every flight the monster caught up a little more. Looking further down, we noticed a small hallway leading who-knows-where. Running out of options (no pun intended), we figured it would be our only chance for escape so we went for it. Unfortunately, it was still hot on our trail. Even more unfortunate was that the hallway came to a dead-end. Exhausted, trapped, and seemingly no way out, we were about to accept our fate when a miracle hit. Brent had taken a step back and accidentally bumped a hidden switch, causing the wall to swing around, separating us from the monster._

_After we all had caught our breath, I finally spoke. "Okay, all those officially freaked out please raise your hands." Naturally, we all did. We had encountered several strange things in the past before, but this was by far the most bizarre and dangerous. "We need to be more careful, guys. This place is more than meets the eye, it's full of traps and secret passages," I warned. _

"_Right, this place is like a giant maze," Keith said. _

"_We also need to figure out what this guy's game is," Brent spoke up. "From what you said, he's obviously working for somebody. And it's pretty apparent he did all this to lure us into a trap, but there has to be something else he's plotting." _

"_All right, this time we need to stick together, okay?" I asked. "I think we'll have a safer chance in numbers."_

"_Okay," agreed Keith and Brent in unison._

"_We probably won't last too long, though, without some sort of plan," I said._

_"True," Brent retorted, "but conveniently for us, this appears to be some sort of hidden armory. That's why I brought up the underlying plan." I hadn't noticed at first, but he was right._

_"He's got quite a stockpile," Keith observed. "Is he trying to start a war?"_

_"Man, I don't even recognize some of these, and I've read tons of books on weapons!" I exclaimed, picking up a strange looking dagger and slipping it from its brown, leather sheath. Suddenly, a jewel in the middle of the dagger began to glow and I dropped it as it shot a beam out of the blade, blowing a hole in the wall. "Um…okay, that was interesting," I said, stunned. I looked around again. 'Strange,' I thought, 'some of these weapons seem more mystical in nature. What have we gotten ourselves into?'_

_"We should probably get moving, and quick," Keith said, pulling me back to the current situation. "Somebody had to have heard that." I quickly picked up the dagger, careful that I wouldn't activate it again, and stuck it in my belt. _

_"Grab something light," I said. "We'll need more agility than firepower with these guys. Chances are they'll probably be protected from gunshot anyway so forego those."_

_"So in other words, close ranged weapons would be the best choice," Brent clarified, grabbing a bo staff that extended with the push of a button. Keith, however, couldn't break his gaze with a particular bow. The string was pulled tight, ready to launch an arrow, but there were no arrows to launch. Anywhere. When I tried to persuade him to put it back and grab something more useful, he declined and said this was the one he felt he should take. Figuring that we didn't have time to argue, I let it go. Despite how ludicrous it sounded, we had experienced weirder things._

_As we went through the hole and down a nearby flight of stairs, we heard footsteps coming from above us. "Somebody's following us," Brent said. Brent and I quickly used our weapons to hang from the underside of the stairs while Keith held onto us so we could wait until whoever-it-was passed by. But to our surprise, there was no body to the footsteps when they passed under us. Suddenly, I felt my blade slipping and instinctively I grabbed onto Brent. Unfortunately, the weight was more than one weapon could hold and we crashed down on the floor. We heard the footsteps turn and I told Brent and Keith to run while I held whatever it was off. I began firing wildly into the corridor, but I knew I wasn't connecting to anything. Suddenly, an idea came to me. I took off as fast as I could after the others, but decided to take a detour when I found a room marked "heater."_

_"It's a long shot," I thought, "but it has to work." I quickly hid among the many pipes as the door flung open and closed as if by itself. I softly tapped on a pipe to alert it of my position. Then, when it got close enough, I blew a hole into the pipe causing a blast of hot steam to blow in the intruder's face, revealing its position. "Got you!" I cried, shooting three beams at the armor that it wore. When the steam had dissipated I found that it was a strange robot. "Let's see what Mr. Invisible has for me," I said, as I examined it. I noticed that there was no serial number or name of the production company, which I guess wasn't surprising since nothing here really made sense. I turned it over and opened up a panel in the back of its head and pulled out a small digital card. "This is might come in handy," I thought. Suddenly, I heard more footsteps behind me and I ducked behind the pipes again. Fortunately, it was only Brent and Keith. They had heard the commotion and decided to head back._

_"This technology is far beyond anything we have," Brent observed, as he looked the robot over._

_"I picked this off it," I told him, as I handed the card to Keith._

_"There are several computer systems around here. I bet with a little work I could hook this up to one of them," Keith said._

_"That's true, but my guess is if we find the main computer we would have a better chance," Brent said._

_"Plus, we might be able to shut this clown's operation down," I said._

_"This place is huge, though!" Keith said. "There's no telling how long it would take to find it. Fortunately…" He pulled a map out of his pocket. "I managed to pick pocket one of the guards when they first threw us in. I didn't have a chance, or felt the need, to examine it until a little bit ago." I took a quick glance at it before handing it back and pointing at a couple of points._

_"Okay, we're going to split up again. I'm going after the main computer in the bottom floor and figure out what's going on. In the meantime, I want you to go find Mr. Smithers, okay? It looks like they placed him in a different holding cell a couple floors above here." They nodded and we agreed to meet at the surface as soon as they had the director. After they left, I examined the robot again to see if there was anything I had missed. Unfortunately, I found nothing. "Drats, I guess I'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way. Oh well, nobody ever said being a Private Eye was easy," I laughed. I put the dagger back in my belt and looked around the corner of the door to see if the coast was clear. Being very cautious, I dashed down the hallway as I quickly glanced at each door. I quickly located the stairs, and after a few more encounters with some guards and invisible robots, I found the computer room. "Okay now," I said, as I opened the door and pointed my dagger at the men at the computer, "I'm tired. I'm cranky. And I'm definitely not in the mood to deal with any of you, so if you value your lives you'll step away from the console and not give me any trouble."_

_"Please don't hurt us!" one of them pleaded. "We're just working here because we were being forced."_

_"Explain," I said, closing the door and locking it behind me._

_"We were kidnapped from our work. This weird guy said he'd kill our families if we didn't make this base and super weapon for him," another said, and I remembered reading in several newspapers that scientists had gone missing from several laboratories._

_"Super weapon?" I asked in surprise._

_"This guy's a psycho! He plans to neutralize the world's defensive systems and weaken the world as we know it. The super weapon is designed to control people's minds!"_

_"I took this off one of the robots," I said, pulling the chip out of my pocket. "Can you decipher it?"_

_"It might take a little time," another said, taking it with trembling hands. "You won't hurt us if we can't, will you?"_

_"Oh that," I said, recalling what I had said earlier. "You didn't actually think I meant that, did you?" I laughed, placing a hand behind my head, causing them to laugh nervously. "I'm one of the good guys. One question, though. What does this weapon need as a power source?"_

_"The mind and energy of a human."_

_"The director!" I suddenly realized. "They're planning to use him as a battery. If that thing has anything to stop that weapon, use it. I have to find and stop that psychotic madman!" I raced through the base doing as much damage as I could so I would gain the attention of the cyborg._

_"That's far enough, you gnat!" he said, with several groups of robots and guards alike by his side as I turned the corner. "You've caused me enough trouble."_

_"Me thinks not! How about we tango? It looks like we're a little more evenly matched," I said fearlessly. _

_"No, that's what I have my guards for," he said, as the whole fleet rushed towards me. I stood my ground and shooting several beams, taking out as many soldiers as I could as they raced towards me. I held fast until they were almost on top of me before I took off again, all the while shooting while running. I couldn't even get a moments rest after I had finished the last of them before the cyborg started firing at me with the cannon that was attached to his arm. "Way, way, way out of my league," I thought, running for my life. "I sure hope Brent and Keith are doing a lot better than I am." As I turned a corner, a blast nicked my heel, causing me to trip and go careening hard into a nearby wall._

_"And now you die," he said, pointing his cannon point blank into my face. "Even you can't block this at this range."_

_"No," I said, reaching for a large rock that had been knocked free, "but I can jam it!" I shoved it as far into the cannon as I could as it was about to fire, causing it to overload and backfire and explode._

_"No, you fool!" he cried, holding the stub that was now his arm. "You'll regret this!"_

_"Not from where I'm standing," I said, standing and pointing my blade at him. He turned to run and I shot several blasts at him. Unfortunately, the hard armor he was wearing deflected them and he was able to make it past to a large metal gateway that closed behind him. "Rats!" I said, banging on the doorway, but to no avail._

_"Do you mind if we lend a hand?" a voice behind me asked. I turned to find that Brent and Keith had found the director and caught up to me._

_"Allow me," Keith said, motioning me to move and pointed his bow at the door. "I finally figured out how to use this thing." He pulled the bowstring back and magically an arrow of light formed in place. "Watch out, these things pack quite a punch," he said, as I moved away. He released the arrow and it connected to the door with a large explosion._

_"Hurry, we have to catch him before he gets away!" I said._

_"Oh, I don't think he'll be getting too far," Brent said. "Look." He pointed to a trail of black liquid on the ground. "He's leaking oil. Pretty soon, he won't be able to go anywhere."_

_"Unless he finds something to stop it," I reminded him. "Either way, we need to finish this now!"_

_"You go on ahead," Keith said. "We'll take Mr. Smithers to safety. Here, this should give your weapon an upgrade so you can pierce his armor." He popped a crystal out of his bow and tossed it to me. "I noticed it was the reason why the weapon was as powerful as it was. There should be a small compartment near the power jewel."_

_"Thanks," I said, placing the crystal. I could feel the new power pulse through the dagger and up my arm. "I'll meet you back up top." They nodded in agreement and I began to follow the trail. The hallway was very dark and who knew what was waiting for me in the shadows?_

_I soon found that by shooting blasts down into the hallway, I effectively rid myself of hassling with robots and was able to light the way at the same time. Eventually, though, the oil led me to an elevator and I was faced with a decision. Should I go up or down? "It'll take too long to go floor to floor, and by the time I pick up the trail again, he'll be long gone," I thought. "I guess my only chance is to go topside and hope something turns up." I pushed the up button and went as high as the elevator would let me go. As I was about to step off, though, I noticed oil on the wall. "This concentration of oil is too thick for just leaning against," I thought. "It looks as though he removed his free hand from his wound just long enough to do something with it. I looked up and saw that there were fingerprints on the ceiling. "He climbed through the roof," I thought. "Is he waiting for me? Waiting to strike when I get off? Or waiting to go back down once I let down my guard? I have an idea." I pushed a button to go back down, but before the doors could close and the elevator could move I said loudly, but not obviously, "Darn it anyway, I lost his trail! I can't believe I could be that stupid. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to meet up with the others and try something else!" The doors closed and I crouched down in a corner, my sword poised to attack. Worse case scenario would be that he'd run into the others topside and they'd hold him off until I could get there. As the elevator began to go down, though, I noticed the ceiling panel begin to move._

_"Stupid fool," I heard him mutter, as he climbed down with his back to me. "Didn't even know that I was under his nose the whole time."_

_"Oh really?" I asked, catching by surprise as he hung there. "I'm not as clueless as I look. Now, you're coming with me. There's no point to resist. You're helpless without your cannon."_

_"Okay, then," he said, his back still facing me. "Then catch!" He tossed a ball at me and I instinctively ducked and rolled in his direction, piercing his armor and stabbing him in the stomach and turning him to create a shield for myself as the ball exploded against the side of the elevator. The elevator rocked violently as a couple of the cords snapped, causing to drop towards the bottom of the shaft._

_"Time to make a daring escape," I thought, using him as a stepping stone and jumping onto the roof. Using all the momentum I could, I jumped towards the wall. I plunged my blade into the wall, holding on as it slid a little, and I watched the elevator crashed at the bottom. "Whew, a couple more floors and I would've been history." I swung over to the ladder that was near me, catching it by one of the bars as I released from my sword. I climbed down to the massive wreckage and pulled some of the debris away. "Well I'll be…" I thought, as I came across what was left of him. His circuitry was sparking from all the damage, but he was otherwise still functional._

_"Not…not bad, Guardian," he said to me, catching me slightly off guard. I hadn't expected him to still be capable of speaking after all that. "You may have…defeated me, but…can you…defeat my…master? I don't….really think…so…Noel Rivers. Not you…nor Brett Mills."_

_"Wait," I said, "who are you talking about? Who are you working for? How do you know my real name?" He faded away before any answers could be given, though. "Gone," I said, replacing the stones I had moved away. "I'll let the authorities handle the cleanup."_

_"Hey, Noah, you okay down there?" I heard a yell. I looked up to see Keith and Brent a few floors up._

_"We were just going to come back to help you, but the elevator was out of order," Brent said. "It took us a little bit, but we were able to make it here."_

_"I'm okay," I responded. "What about the director?"_

_"The police are outside and we turned him and the scientists over to them. They're taking him back to town and question the scientists while getting the charges on you dropped. Everything seems to be back in order," Keith said._

_"That's good news," I sighed, climbing up the ladder to meet them._

_"Something wrong?" Brent asked._

_"I'll tell you when we get back to the office," I whispered. Tired and weary, the director was found and the case was finally over. Or was it?_

_Later that night, I called Brent to the office for a special meeting. "I didn't want to call Keith because for some reason I don't think this concerns him as much," I began._

_"What's up?" Brent asked._

_"It's that cyborg. I just can't get him out of my mind. He wasn't just some common criminal. The director was bait to lure us into his trap. It was the two of us he was after."_

_"Are you sure he wasn't after Keith as well?"_

_"I doubt it. He didn't mention Keith, and he used our real names."_

_"But only our friends know those! All of us were especially careful about using aliases after our battles with Kellaway so nobody would originally associate us with those." Brent said, surprised. "Anybody outside of here wouldn't have a clue."_

_"Which makes me think that there's more to this than meets the eye," I replied. "He was working for somebody. Somebody who knows his stuff. He knows that we've worked on nearly everything together. Whatever's about to happen, he knew that'd I'd eventually call you. Unfortunately, the robotic memory banks were totally wrecked in the crash so there's no way of finding out who's working behind the scenes."_

_"Looks like we'll just have to wait him out," Brent said._

_"I hate to admit it, but you're right. Still, there was something else that was strange."_

_"What?"_

_"He called me by another name. He called me a Guardian. Do you have any idea what it could mean?" I asked._

_"Search me," he replied._

_"I'm beginning to get a bad feeling," I said ominously. "Like something terrible is about to happen someday soon…" We sat there through most of the night trying to figure out what it could mean, but finally decided it was best just to head home. Business went downhill from then on and with a heavy heart we decided to quit the detective work. Even then, though, I couldn't get what the cyborg said to me out of my head. Everyday I could feel some evil power growing, as if it was reaching out to grab me. Little did I realize that this evil would be the biggest challenge I would ever face…_

"And that brings me to present day," Noel thought, stepping onto the last of the steps and into another long hallway. Unlike the other one, though, this one had a long, red carpet spread out in the middle. The wall leading to the outside had stained glass windows. As he walked, he could hear the haunting sound of a pipe organ and a wicked laugh permeated the air. Approaching another large, metal door, though, all things grew silent. "Looks like this is the place," he thought, anxiety building. He swallowed hard as he placed his hand on the door. "It's time to end this!"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this flashback to the past. It was much longer than I anticipated and I'll have a couple more as time goes on, but hopefully this fills some holes. As for the brief mention of Kellaway, there will be some references to it, but it isn't anything important to the overall plot line. I will explain it a little bit more later, though, but I thought it best to give the heads up.

Finally, before any questions can arise, the Mr. Smithers in this chapter is not the same as Alice's father. Mr. Smithers is Alice's uncle, and that side of the family will show up much later. I think that about covers it, though, but give me some feedback so I know what to think. Questions? Comments? Complaints (keep them to yourself, please)?

This is a little side note, but regarding last chapter, if there is anyone can tell me what the strongest black and white magics (one apiece) are by June 1, 2005, I'll send them my next update (Chapter 10) via e-mail a couple days before I post it. I'll give a hint. It comes from the Final Fantasy series (at least up until seven). It must be posted on the site as a review and I won't acknowledge the winner(s) until that post.

Second side note is this, I'm going to give a brief history of the Guardians later because it goes a little deeper than just being the same as the White Mages. I'll explain later, but just another heads up.

READ AND REVIEW.

Review's Section:

**KyLewin:** I don't want to give the villain away, but look at some pictures of  
all the characters from Ocarina of Time. That might give you a hint  
on what's coming. All I can say is that you're close.

As far as the monsters are concerned, I'm having a little freedom with  
it. In my mind, Gannon is the reason behind all the monsters  
appearing in Hyrule (at least more frequently).

As far as the age issue is concerned, I started writing all these  
stories when I was those ages, so naturally I didn't make myself grow  
up in the stories. I just gave myself a job no matter what the age  
was. Weird, I know, but that's not going to change. If nothing else,  
I'll find some way to explain it away. Heck, Gohan was five when he  
confronted the Saiyans. There's also a small story that leads up to  
the detective bit, but I'm not going into great detail with that.  
That's a story all in itself.

As far as Noel being too perfect, yeah, I caught onto that, too. I'm  
trying to change that as I go along, but most of his emotion shows up  
later, when all the stress starts breaking him. Once again, the  
reason I did it like this was because I mostly molded the character's  
personality after my own. I tend to be self-sufficient and I like to  
try and handle anything that's thrown at me. Now that's not reality,  
but I like to think I can do that.

On a final note, being my first fanfic I'm not used to people who  
haven't hung around me most of my life. I've had some of my friends  
see these and because they know me, they know where my line of  
thinking is coming from. It's taking me some time to adjust so  
everybody knows what I'm saying. I appreciate your input because it  
helps to balance me out.

**Nanashi Minimino:** Thanks for checking the story out. Tell me what you think.


	11. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing beyond the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Just a quick review: Noel Rivers is now a thirteen year old boy with extreme abilities and facing the adventure of a lifetime. Despite how crazy it sounded, he knew the only way to win back his life was to collect three mystical Pendants and pull out the holy Master Sword. He did such and trained with long time friend, Saria. Now he faces the Great Evil. Who is it? Read on!

Chapter 9

"This is it. The final confrontation," Noel thought, as he stepped into the room. He hardly noticed the three pendants around his neck begin to glow fiercely. The darkness was thick, and he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him. From what he could tell, though, instead of finding a throne room or something of that nature, he found he was in some kind of large arena. "What on earth?" he said. Suddenly, he heard a deep, evil laugh.

"So the foolish boy decides to return after all," chuckled an evil voice that echoed off all the walls. Noel darted his glances all around, but the darkness prevented him from seeing anything. "How do you like the decor? It rather suits me, don't you think? Besides, I thought your house was rather pathetic anyway," said an evil voice.

"Not content with your own realm, were you, Ganondorf?" Noel shouted.

"So you've figured it out," the evil being said.

"It's kind of simple when you leave clues," Noel answered, pulling out his sword. Suddenly, an energy ball whizzed towards him and he narrowly rolled to the side. "Aiming for cheap shots, huh?"

"Just wanting to keep you guessing," Ganondorf countered casually. "It's no fun if you die without suffering. By the way," he added, "if you think that by freeing your friends from my mind control saved them, you'll want to guess again." Noel gritted his teeth, but didn't say a word. "Ah! I have your attention now, don't I?"

"Get to the point, scumbag!" Noel barked.

"I was just going to say that once I finish with you, I'll just go and recapture your friends. However, this time I won't simply be so lenient. I'm still deciding what to do with them. Perhaps I should torture them right in front of your beaten face! Or maybe…"

"Here's a great idea," Noel interrupted, fire in his eyes and with extreme hatred in his voice. "How about you quit being a coward and come out of hiding so we can get this over with?"

"Gladly," he said as the room lit up enough for Noel to see he appeared on a large balcony. He was dressed in brown leather that slightly showed beneath his black battle armor, with a matching black cape around his broad shoulders and draping down his back and a little past his knees. His black gauntlets had a small yellow square on the back each of them, and the armored kneepads had yellow spikes. Behind his right thigh was attached a small dagger. He wore brown, steel-toed boots that appeared to be very heavy. His fiery red hair was matted back, but was attached to his bushy red eyebrows that also slanted down to enhance his evil smirk. His olive green skinned nose was big and pointy. The most unusual thing about him was the small, orangish-yellow jewel attached to a metallic headband of some kind that seemed to connect to his large forehead. Noel, through the power of Pendant of Wisdom, knew this was a sign of the Garudo thieves, but he didn't know the shape of this object. His muscles bulged through his armor and he sent chills down Noel's spine. "You will make a fine addition to my slaves, but first you must be humbled."

All of a sudden, Ganondorf let out a purple wave of dark energy and Noel froze. Noel could feel the energy pulse all around him and begin invading his mind. _'No!'_ he resisted inwardly. _'After all my work! After all the effort! I will not let it end here!'_ He closed his eyes and let out an intense scream as a white aura surrounded him, fighting off the power of the waves, though his body still wouldn't budge.

"My hypnotic waves! How? No normal human, despite the amount of will power, can resist my magic!" Suddenly, he noticed the weapon Noel held in his hands. _'Could that sword be the reason?'_ he thought. "It doesn't matter!" he exclaimed, snapping his attention back to Noel. "If I can't control your mind, I will just destroy you!"

"No, it…will…not…end…here!" Noel whispered fiercely. Noel tried with all his might to break free, but still his body refused. As though the Master Sword echoed his resolve, it started glowing blue and huge lightning bolts shot out of the sword and at the Evil King. When Ganondorf was struck, the power that had held Noel disappeared.

"Argh! The fool's rage is somehow being channeled by the sword. But that can only mean…"

"That's right! This is the Master Sword of this realm," Noel interrupted him.

"Don't get cocky, you puny fly. I will squash you under my foot like the insect you are!" the Evil King said.

"We'll see about that," Noel shouted, as he lunged for Ganondorf. Without flinching, Ganondorf threw an energy ball at Noel, which knocked him out of the air. "Argh!" Noel yelled, doing a back flip and falling to one knee. _'I don't think I can take many more hits like that!'_

"Now I will finish you off with my next blow!" Ganondorf said as he threw another energy ball.

"Right back at you," Noel replied, still crackling with energy from the last hit. With that, Noel batted the ball back at the enemy, but Ganondorf just swatted it back at him. This went on for about a minute or two before Ganondorf accidentally mistimed his swing and the energy ball hit him. Noel lunged and tried slashing at him, but Ganondorf simply got up and smacked him away. "Ugh!" he said, bouncing against a wall and sliding to the ground. _'Well that didn't go exactly as planned,'_ he painfully observed. _'Even after a shot like that he's still going strong. I have to find a way through his defenses!'_

"Giving up already?" Ganondorf taunted, throwing another energy ball. Noel barely dodged it only to meet with another one, pinning him up against the wall.

"Aaaaaaa!" he screamed in pain, electricity bounding through his body. If it had not been for his strong life force, he would've been fried alive.

"Interesting," Ganondorf mused. "I didn't expect for you to survive that shot. But your luck has run out! With this attack, I'm going to send you off this mortal coil!"

"Ganondorf," Noel struggled to get up. "You talk too much." He readied his sword as Ganondorf's evil smirk turned into a sneer.

"Let's see you survive this shot then! Black Hole Attack!" He floated into the air and began to gather a large amount of evil energy over his head.

'_I'm in no condition to use this, but I have no choice now. It's do or die time!'_ Noel thought, as the Master Sword began to glow golden. "Light Beam, now!" Noel shouted. As Ganondorf released a black spiral of energy, Noel released his own ray of light from his sword. The two clashed and formed a dangerous mixture of light and dark, neither one gaining an advantage. "It's over, Ganondorf, just die!" Noel screamed, pushing all of his available energy into his final attack. Ganondorf tried to counter, but quickly noticed that a small trace of the light energy had rushed up his beam and was sapping his strength, making him unable to power up any further.

"What is this technique?" he cried out as the light energy consumed his blast and headed towards him. "No! I refuse to be defeated!" He held out both hands to divert the blast, but the moment he touched it a powerful shock coursed through his body and the light enveloped him. After it had vanished, he fell to the ground in a smoking heap. "No…" he gasped. "How…how could…this piece of…trash…beat me? Me! The King of Evil!" He looked up and saw Noel over a couple of feet away from him, sword drawn and ready to strike.

"It's…over," he quietly said. "Just die!" He brought his sword down, but it only hit the cold, metal floor. He looked anxiously around and found Ganondorf kneeling on one knee, gasping deeply for breath as several gaping wounds were bleeding all over his body.

"Don't think this is over just because you got in one lucky shot," he said vengefully. "I will be back and the next time you won't be so fortunate," he said as he started to vanish. "Savor your last moments alive!"

After he disappeared, Noel himself collapsed to one knee in complete exhaustion. His own body had been taxed to its limits and bleeding in several places. The battle was over, at least for now. So much damage had been done, though. How could he ever think about going about a normal life again? Suddenly, a voice rang in Noel's head, "Noel, it's time to wake up. Play it…play the 'Song of Awakening.'" The Pendant of Wisdom began to glow as the knowledge of the song rushed into his brain, and he painfully pulled out his ocarina to play. His fingers nimbly danced across the instrument despite the agony as though he had known the song for ages. Soon after he finished, a twister tore the fortress apart and threw everybody in opposite directions.

When Noel regained his senses, he opened his eyes and was greeted by the four walls of his bedroom. In fact, he found he was in his bed. He checked the date on his watch and found that it was the same day that his whole adventure had begun. "Was it all a dream?" he thought. When he stepped onto the floor, however, he stepped on something flat and hard. He looked down to find a shiny blade with a hilt that had three holes in it lying at his feet. A small duffle bag with the pendants and ocarina lay right beside it. "The Pendants! And the Master Sword! It wasn't a dream!" he exclaimed, jumping out of bed, and immediately regretting it. Though he had retained the items from his quest, he also had kept the sore muscles and every ache and pain that he could imagine, although the wounds had healed. Suddenly, the phone rang. After a couple of rings, though, it stopped and then a voice was heard. A voice he had longed to hear for so long.

"Noel!" his mother called.

'_She must've heard all my yelling,'_ he thought.

"Noel!" she called again. "Telephone!"

He hobbled out there, trying his best to hide his pain. "Hello?" Noel said as he picked it up.

"Noel, is that you?" asked the voice almost in a whisper. It was Alice.

"Yeah," he answered, lowering his voice to match hers.

"Can you explain to me what in the world just happened? One moment I'm running away from town and the next moment I feel this strong gust of wind and I fall unconscious. Next thing I know, I'm lying in my bed, everything back to normal, and on the same day that you disappeared. What's going on?" she asked puzzled.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping you could tell me," he joked a little. "I honestly don't know, but how about I pick you up and we can figure it out together?" There was a slight silence.

"Okay, I guess. How about in an hour? I still have to talk to my family some more. After the initial shock wore off, I rushed off to call you." she said.

"An hour sounds good to me. I have a little catching up to do myself," he replied, saying good-bye and hanging up. He sat down and sighed deeply. He couldn't believe his adventure had finally come to an end, even if it was for a short while.

A/N: So, Ganondorf has been revealed to be the villain. So does that mean that his friend, Saria, is the actual Forest Sage from Hyrule? How is it possible that there could be a Saria on Earth and in Hyrule? I guess you'll just have to wait and see how I twist it around…READ AND REVIEW!


	12. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Hope everybody's enjoyed the story so far. Sorry, but no action here; just tying up a loose end with a little semi-romance. I don't think anything else needs to be said here, so read on.

Chapter 10

As Noel flew towards Alice's house using Farore's Wind, he wondered about what had just occurred. "Oh well, I'll talk this over with her," he said, landing on the front door step of her family's large, two-story house. Fortunately traffic was light so he wasn't drawing too much attention. He knocked on the door and soon Dr. Smithers answered the door.

"Noel, what a pleasant surprise," he said, a little surprised to see him. He then noticed that there wasn't a car in the driveway. "Where's your ride?" he asked in a confused tone.

"I flew here," Noel replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"What?"

"I flew here using the powers I told you about," he repeated, this time a little more unnerved.

"What powers?" he asked slowly and uncertainly.

"Don't you remember?" Noel gave him a confused look as Dr. Smithers shook his head.

"Noel!" Alice exclaimed, as she came down the stairs.

'_Talk about a last minute save,'_ he thought, as she stood slightly off to the side.

"I'll talk to you about it later," she said, before he could get a word off. "Dad, we're going to go out back and talk. Is that okay?"

"Sure, dear," her mother said, coming from the nearby kitchen. "You two go catch up." As she passed Alice she whispered, "Don't worry, I'll explain everything to your father." Alice gave a look of relief and thanks as she took Noel by the arm and almost dragged him through the kitchen and out the back door. After they were outside, she released him and they walked to the bottom of the ravine and looked out over the lake. Finally, Noel broke the silence.

"Um…okay, anybody who has no idea what just happened, please raise their hand!" Noel said, raising his hand. Surprisingly, so did Alice. "Well, that puts us back at square one."

"All I know is that my dad and Tom don't remember a thing that happened," she began to explain. "I woke up this morning practically screaming. My mother was almost in shock when she woke up, leaving my dad to run into my room to find out what the problem was. When I tried to go over everything, he chalked it up to some kind of nightmare and overactive imagination. Matt and Stefan were a little bit calmer, but I still saw them look at each other. After I was able to convince my dad I was okay, they dragged my mom in there and we all agreed that it was the real thing. Unless, of course, we all dreamt the same thing." There was a long silence as Noel seemed to be contemplating the situation. He had a very serious look on his face. "So why do you think we're the only ones who remember?"

"I'm guessing it was because we weren't under whatever trance Ganondorf placed on everybody else," he said, before Alice interrupted.

"Is that what his name was? I faintly remember…"

"Yeah," he replied. "Don't worry, I'll explain everything later in more detail. I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on. I want to be sure, though, before I say anything." She reluctantly nodded, agreeing that was probably best. "Anyway, as I was saying, when that tornado came and seemingly returned everything to normal, our memories weren't wiped like everybody else's." He let the silence return for a brief moment and then added, "All I know is that this leaves a lot of unanswered questions."

"I think you've given the most logical explanation at this point, though," she stated in agreement. She sat down on a nearby rock and glanced out at the water that glistened in the sun. A breeze caused small waves on the water.

"You seem tense," Noel said, when he saw her quickly look over her shoulder at the slightest noise.

She smirked a little, and then grew serious. "Why shouldn't I be?" she asked, half exasperated. "I've just had something that I can't even begin to explain happen to me," she said. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Things have been hectic these last few months…I mean today…I mean…you know what I mean." Silence.

"Do you trust me?" Noel finally asked, extending his hand.

"Huh?" Alice asked with a confused look on her face.

"Do you trust me?" Noel repeated. She thought about it for a moment before finally saying yes to him. "Grab onto my hand," he said. Alice extended her hand and held onto his. "Now hold on!" he exclaimed. "Farore's Wind!" A green aura covered them as they both started floating in the air.

"Noel, I'm…I'm flying!" she stammered, holding tightly to his arm.

"Relax," he said simply, with a small chuckle. "As long as I'm touching a part of you, you'll be covered with the same power," he replied, holding onto one of her hands with one of his and wrapping his free arm around her waist. "Now hold on tight, because this could be a bumpy ride."

"And this is supposed to help me how?" she asked, as he flew through several clouds with the wind whipping at her hair and clothes. He didn't answer, but looked around a little bit before finding the spot that he wanted.

"Wow!" Alice exclaimed, as they landed on a mountain ridge overlooking miles of beautiful scenery. "What is this place?"

"A place where few have been able to just sit and relax," Noel said, letting go of her. "This place is quiet so it allows you to clear your mind of everything."

"Shouldn't we have trouble breathing at this altitude?" she asked.

"Nah, we're not that high up. I'd say probably around five thousand feet or so," he answered.

They sat there and talked for a while about miscellaneous until Noel finally said, "It's getting late. I probably should take you home." Before Alice could answer, Noel started again, "But before I do, I brought you up here to tell you something. The past few months, before the twister set the time to its condition now, gave me a lot of time to think. I had time to think about my destiny…the future…about us." Noel stopped for a second.

"Noel, I feel the same way about you. When you went to fight Gunondorp, or whatever his name is, I was afraid I'd never see you again. Sure you can be a klutz at times, but you have a loving heart and strong convictions. That's what makes you you, and that's what I fell in love with," she quickly said, blushing ever so slightly. "But please understand that I just want to be friends right now. I'm not ready for a boyfriend. Please understand," Alice said, looking him in the eyes with the deepest sincerity and pureness he had ever seen in her greenish-blue eyes. He stared at her and thought deeply.

"I do," he said with a slight smirk, turning back to the ground below. He paused and thought for a moment. "I agree," he started. "We're still young. We have plenty of time for that later. Besides, I have a job to do, and I think that deserves most of my attention right now."

"Hmmm…" she said smiling.

"Anyway, it's time to be heading back," he said as he put his arm around her waist. "Hold on!"

About halfway into the trip, he gave her a mischievous look. "Are you up for a little fun?" he smirked. Before she could answer, he removed his hands from her, causing her to freefall towards the ground. After falling about two thousand feet or so, he caught up with her and replaced his hands as he had before. "Just thought I'd give you a little scare to keep you on your toes."

"Not! Funny!" she gasped, punching him in the arm as hard as she could. He feinted that he was going to drop her again and she gave him a dirty look, but soon smiled as soon as she saw the look on his face. Though he was sometimes a dipstick at times, she knew he wouldn't really do anything to hurt her.

They soon landed on Alice's front door step. "Thanks for the good time, Noel," she said. "I'll always remember it. But if you ever pull a stunt like that again…"

"Glad I could relieve some stress, m'lady," he replied quickly in a joking manner, bowing slightly and causing her to giggle.

"How do I ever put up with you?" she asked rhetorically.

"It's an acquired trait," he replied, eliciting another small chuckle from her as she turned to go. He watched her step inside and hoped that Alice, her family, and nobody else, would have to go through what had happened in that period of time when the evil plagued the town. _'I'll defend this realm with all my might,'_ he thought. _'Ganondorf, if you do have the guts to return, I'll be waiting. This will not happen again. Not by a long shot!'_

OOO

In a realm parallel from Noel's, ancient eyes watch foretold events unfold. "Yes, this is the boy from legends past. His courage shows it," said a voice.

"His time is coming when he will face his greatest challenge and make greater decisions that will affect the outcome of his world and others," said a different voice. "Until that time, however, the struggle goes on."

"And the girl?" asked a third voice.

"Her time is coming too," replied the second voice. "She will play a major role in the boy's life. All we can do now, though, is wait for that time to come…"

A/N: Who are these that watch from the shadows? Are they friend or foe? I guess only time will tell.

I failed to mention this in the last chapter, though I don't think anybody would notice. I'm using a lot of elements from the Ocarina of Time, but if you notice, the Song of Awakening comes from Majora's Mask. I wanted to use an OoT song, but Zelda's Lullaby didn't seem to fit the scenario like I originally intended. Anyway, just FYI.

Secondly, I'm going to get into explaining how the realms work within the next few chapters. I now have finished introducing the villain and am finally done with the first sub-story. The next story will mainly fill in more gaps, though I do think there will be plenty of action. If you have any questions about the realms, please hold onto them until the after I finish explaining.

I sincerely hope this will be the last romance chapter for awhile. I kept re-reading this chapter, and I decided I cannot write romance to save my life. Oh well, I'm still working on it so don't flame me too bad about this chapter.

Finally, my answers to the question from last chapter. First off, let me clarify, although I don't think I'll ever do something like this again, but I wasn't planning on giving the chapter through an e-mail attachment, but rather just a message. It doesn't matter, though, since looking back I don't like the idea at all. Instead, if I do something like this again, I'll just promise a faster update. Anyway, based on what I've found playing the Final Fantasy series, I believe that the strongest Black Magic spell is Meteo (Meteor) and the strongest White Magic is Holy (or White in the earlier games). I suppose technically you could argue that Flare is the strongest Black Magic and Meteo is the strongest Time Magic, but before they made the Time Mage class Meteo was a Black Magic spell and was referred to as the strongest. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the conclusion that I came to.

I think that's about it. Read, review, and please don't torch me too badly.

Reviewer's Section:

**KyLewin: **I must say, you're certainly keeping me on my toes. Let's see if I can hit everything. First, the memory scene. Yes, I was going for the first person viewpoint in that I've seen/read mystery novels/shows that use the first person. The memories were actually smaller stories that I wrote a long time ago and it took me awhile to rewrite them so they were satisfactory. Plus, thinking about it, I guess you could say Noel was talking to himself as he was relaying the memory.

Secondly, I was implying at the end of Chapter 9 when he says that he's got some catching up to do that he was going to spend that time with his family. I'm not really one to show outward sentimental signs so a lot of that is implied. I'll work on making all that clearer, though, in the future.

Thirdly, about damage received, point taken. An eleven year old should not have come out of that without a scratch. Technically I didn't say that he didn't come out of that unharmed, but I never  
specified what he received, either. However, he did come out with some wounds (okay, aching muscles when he awoke) during the battle with Ganondorf (which, Ganon is his transformed state after Link defeats him for the first time and escapes the tower).

Fourthly, the cops. The best thing I can say is that control was released when the cyborg was defeated. Amends were made afterwards, though the memory cuts off before then. In case you didn't pick it up, Ganondorf was the Master that had sent the cyborg beforehand (implying that Ganondorf had already planned to invade Noel's realm all along) to weaken the realm's defenses. Seeing how the cyborg was defeated, there was no point in keeping the cops under his control. I'll try and go into all of this in more detail later (as a matter of fact, the next few chapters bring in more explaining than fighting).

Finally, overall, I started by dropping my readers in the center of the action and filling in details around it. Maybe that wasn't the best idea, but it's a little late to back out now. We now start the seven year struggle with Ganondorf since now he's fully revealed himself (I'm taking the dream to be in a one-night span rather than the X amount of weeks he spent in the dream to be the basis on starting the clock). As far as Alice is concerned, we'll see; I still have time to play with their relationship, but I already have it planned out, too. That can change, though. Now onto the really fun stuff: explaining the idea about the realms. I'll explain the properties during the next few chapters before I go realm-hopping, and I'll also have another couple of flashback scenes to fill in more gaps. I'd have to say that he knows about all these things from his time with Saria (which is another little gap I'm going to fulfill).

I do want to leave the reader in suspense for the next chapter to see what details will be filled in, but I don't want to leave them in confusion. Thanks for your comments; they're really helpful. Tell me if I missed anything.

**Fallen Ryu: **Thanks for reviewing. I look forward to seeing more of your comments.


	13. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: I'm finally posting this chapter! If I wasn't so darn lazy this would've been out a week ago. Anyway, sorry for the delay, but it's actually a good thing I did. In the time I spent procrastinating, I had some new ideas pop into my head that I used in this chapter. I would tell you, but that would ruin the surprise on who's going to show up. This is the Crossover section after all. Well, enjoy!

Chapter 11

Two years have passed, and despite a few miscellaneous adventures, there was no sign that Ganondorf was going to attack. Naturally, Noel decided to enjoy the peace while it lasted. Little did he realize that he was going to learn a lot more about his destiny, along with those of his friends…

OOO

"So, Noel, how have you been?" Mrs. Smithers asked, as they all sat down at the Smithers' dining room table.

"Pretty good, actually. With Ganondorf gone for the time being, I've actually been able to relax," Noel said. "Something I haven't done in a long time, though I have had some interesting experiences in the meantime."

"Brrr!" Alice exclaimed. "That name still sends chills down my spine."

Noel gave a small laugh. "I guess I've just grown used to it."

"Sorry, Noel, but I still can't believe any of it ever happened to you," Tom piped in skeptically.

"What is there not to believe? I've shown you the sword and the pendants and even Epona!" He had been through this argument hundreds of times, but maybe it was time…

"You can buy any of those things. How do I know that you didn't have all those things before? It sounds like your 'adventure' came out of a video game. In fact, I did some research on the Internet and I found tons of matches for this 'Master Sword' of yours, and it didn't have the three holes in the hilt like yours has. How do you explain that?" he responded, breaking Noel's train of thought. To be honest, Noel had been wondering the same thing. He just chalked it up to being a different version of the original, although it had the same power.

"Maybe so, but maybe this will convince you. Farore's Wind!" A green aura covered Noel and he started to float.

"Come on, Noel!" Tom exclaimed. "You've shown us these things! Magicians can do the same thing. What are you trying to prove?"

But before he could answer, a bright blue light came through the windows and a small earthquake shook the house for a few seconds. _'Figures the moment I let down my guard something happens,'_ Noel thought, avoiding the shockwaves as he floated.

When everybody gained their stability, they dashed to the windows to see what had caused the disturbance. Outside on the front lawn was a blue, oval-shaped hole. "Noel, what is that thing?" Alice asked.

"A portal!" exclaimed Noel, rushing to the door with everybody close on his heels. "Everybody stay inside! You'll be safe there." Dr. and Mrs. Smithers nodded in agreement, pulling the kids indoors. However, to make sure they didn't miss any of the action, they peeked out the window.

_'Something's wrong,'_ he thought, as he started out the door. _'Something's definitely wrong.'_ A white horse galloped out of the portal, and he immediately unsheathed his sword to prepare for battle. When the horse stopped, he lowered his sword and slowly approached the rider. "May I help you?" he asked to the tall, slightly muscular woman. Underneath the hooded cape she wore he could tell she had gray hair that was pulled back in a very small ponytail except for her bangs, but for some reason that didn't make her look old at all. The only thing that caught Noel's eye at once was the dagger that she was wearing around her waist and the strange eye symbol that she wore on a leather band around her neck. She was dressed casually in light blue shorts and T-shirt so she wouldn't stand out too much in a crowd.

"Noel, long time, no see. I'm sure you remember my handmaid, Impa," said a voice from behind the woman. Behind the woman was a girl about ten years old that he hadn't noticed before. Her blond hair touched her shoulders and she wore a white hooded cloak on her head. Attached to it was a golden medallion with three triangles on it. Her baby-blue eyes showed a special beauty and matched perfectly with her smooth complexion. She wore a beautiful pink and white gown that had several symbols that Noel only guessed were used for royalty. The same triangles appeared along with what looked like an eagle underneath it. Around her waist was a beautiful golden belt. A large gold necklace hung around her neck and was adorned with a beautiful ruby. The only unusual thing about both riders was that their ears were pointed like an elf's.

"Princess Zelda? What brings you here?" Noel asked, putting his sword away and bowing slightly. Suddenly, his face turned serious. "Why do I get the feeling that this isn't a friendly social call?" Zelda remained silent.

"You know I wouldn't have to realm-hop unless it was something important," she finally said. "Ganondorf, of course." His face became even graver, but he held his negative emotions in. "He found our last hiding place and the only thing I knew to do was escape here. He's on his way, though. He won't show up in the same spot, but he'll be here soon enough."

"Noel," he heard a voice behind him say. He turned to find Alice not more than a few feet away from him. "Does that sound like what I think it sounds like?" He pessimistically nodded.

"Then we need to go," he responded, turning back to Zelda, but taking a brief glance at the Smithers. "All of us. If he comes to where the last portal opened, that's putting everybody in danger. As much as I don't like it, we don't have another choice." He motioned for the others to come out and began to give directions to Dr. and Mrs. Smithers. "We don't have time to ask questions right now, so listen carefully. I want you all to hop into your van, and I'll lead the way with Farore's Wind. I'll carry Zelda back to my house and Impa will return to Hyrule." The Sheikah didn't say anything, but nodded. "I know you probably don't agree with that, Impa, but you know what you need to do." She nodded again, looking to Zelda. Zelda opened the portal again with her powers, which promptly closed as soon as Impa went through. The Smithers watched in amazement, but didn't ask any questions, but rather went to get into their van. He waited for the Smithers to pull their van into the driveway before activating his power. Since the Smithers already knew the way to his house, he didn't spare any horsepower to get there.

About halfway there, Zelda spoke up. "Noel, I sense a disturbance in the realm," she stated gravely. "He's here."

"I know," he responded, speeding up and landing on his driveway, "I felt him some time ago. No doubt he's already felt our power and is on his way here." As the Smithers joined him, he pressed some buttons on a hidden console and a small stairway revealed itself. "We don't have a lot of time," he informed them, leading the way. At the bottom of the stairs, they reached a big, heavy, metal door. He swiped a keycard across another console and the door opened for them.

"You've been a busy little bee within these last couple of years, haven't you?" Alice said, staring in awe at all the high-tech equipment that was spread throughout the room.

He smiled slightly as he went over to a computer in the middle of the room. He pressed a few buttons and a map of the city appeared. "Thank Zelda," he replied. "She's the one who provided the resources. This is just my Land Base. I use it basically for any emergencies that come up."

"You mean you have another?" Tom asked in surprise. He nodded.

"What do those doors lead to?" Stefan asked, pointing to metal doors on opposite sides of the rooms.

"The one on the left leads to my transport. I have dozens of tunnels underneath the city, so since I can't openly fly because it draws so much attention, I go underground. And so far nobody's bothered me about it. It's about as fast as a bullet train, but because it's so far underground it isn't noticed. The other one leads to my recreational room. I use it when I just want to get away," he informed, but an alarm quickly averted his attention. "Which I rarely get to do," he added with a slight smirk. His face grew serious as he looked at the map.

"He's close. He'll be here in a few minutes," Noel said gravely, returning his gaze to the map. "Stay here. I'm going to try and distract him. He doesn't know about this base, but he's homing in on my energy level."

"Noel!" Alice shouted, as he began to run up the stairs. He turned his head just enough to look at her through one eye. "Please, be careful." He turned his head fully and gave her a thumbs-up and was gone.

_'I've got to get him far enough away from people so he won't do any real damage. Problem is, he knows where my house is. He'll go directly there if I don't intervene.'_ He closed his eyes and searched for Ganondorf's vile energy. "He's close to the lake," he stated to himself. "I guess that's as good a place as any." He flew slightly above it just to find where Ganondorf actually was, and was shocked by the sight. Half the city, mainly the route Ganondorf had taken, laid in utter devastation. "This is too much. I…I won't let him get away with this!" he exclaimed, as he landed.

"Get out of my way!" Ganondorf exclaimed, as his horse clopped onto the bridge, only to be stopped by the sight of Noel standing silently at the other end. His sword was drawn and a fierce, determined look was on his face.

"Fat chance, murderer!" he countered.

"So you have admired my handiwork," He laughed, and then grew deadly serious. "You have interfered with me one time to often."

"You want to end this here and now, it's fine by me," he responded, dropping into a fighting stance.

"Your pitiful resistance is futile! Surrender now by giving me Zelda and I might let you live," Ganondorf threatened.

"Over my dead, rotting corpse!"

"So be it, but I'm not going to soil my hands on the pathetic likes of you! Let's conjure up some new toys for you to play with." There was a flash of light with the wave of his hand, and a blue vortex opened above them, pouring out dozens of strange cyborg-like creatures.

"What? The Borg?" Noel cried out in surprise.

"As you can see, I have the ability to call forth anything from a different realm. Don't be fooled by their cute looks, though, I redesigned these especially to kill you. They have a few…new upgrades, as you'll soon see." He let out an evil, triumphant laugh before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

_'His powers have grown tremendously within the last couple of years,'_ Noel thought, dropping into a battle stance. They began to lumber towards him, but he countered quickly by charging into the midst of them, dodging and reflecting laser beams as he went. _'This is insane! Better finish this quick!_' he thought, executing a Spin Attack to gain some room. "Din's Fire!" A dome of fire appeared around Noel, and then exploded into fireballs that hit the Borg with extreme force. The first few fell back, but as the dome reached the back, various force fields began to pop up. "Great, they've adapted," he said, slightly sarcastic. They prepared their weapons to fire, but Noel had already sped through them, hacking and slashing with extreme precision until he was on the outside ranks again.

He turned and was horrified to see that the Borgs that he had dropped were returning as if they hadn't taken any damage at all. His thoughts were cut short, though, as a laser beam narrowly missed him, although it skimmed his arm as it passed. "Augh!" he cried out, blood oozing from the wound. He put his sword up and reflected as many other shots as he could, but he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. _'This is ridiculous! I have to get past their weapons._' Out of desperation, he cried, "Nayru's Love!" and a blue crystal enveloped him, acting as his own force field to deflect the beams.

He charged the group again, hacking off various arms and other body parts as he passed through. When he reached the middle he used another Spin Attack and kept on moving to the opposite side. Out of breath, he turned to see the robots picking themselves off the ground and beginning to mount an attack of their own. Surprisingly, the Borg had gotten a boost in speed and Noel narrowly missed a punch to his face only to receive a metallic knee to his gut, doubling him over. A needle appeared at the wrist of his attacker and he barely was able to roll out of the way.

"Resistance is futile, human. You will be assimilated," one of the Borg announced.

Noel wanted to come back with a witty comment, but his stomach and arm hurt too much to say much of anything. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, but he reacted too late and received another punishing blow on the left side of his face, sending him directly into a kick from his previous attacker. Noel managed to put some distance between the two, but soon the crowd began to advance at a frightening pace. He would block one punch only to receive two more. _'This is bad,'_ he thought, trying to put some distance between them with another Spin Attack. Unfortunately, they had figured the move out by now and backed up just enough to miss it and then resume their strike. _'They're picking me apart. And it seems every time I do damage, they heal and are better than ever. What's worse is that, even though Nayru's Love protects me from the projectiles, their punches slice through it like butter. I've got finish this or else I'm dead!'_ Disregarding any strategy and disregarding all the pain, he wildly hacked his way through the crowd until he reached the edge. He continued to run until he felt he had put enough space between them to launch a counter strike. He fell to the ground out of exhaustion, but he saw the group slowly making their way towards him. They had him and they knew it, and they were going to make him suffer. If they felt merciful, they would finally assimilate him and make him a part of something greater…the mighty army of Ganondorf.

"I've had enough of this!" he shouted, though through clenched teeth as he pulled himself off the ground. He raised his sword above his head, but stood shakily though he determined to put up a decent defense. He knew his next move would cost him some of his all ready depleted energy, but he was becoming desperate to win. His body was broken and bruised. He was bleeding from several spots on his body and face, and there was no doubt he had a couple of broken bones. The pain was almost overwhelming and he was praying he had enough to make this work. His vision began to blur, but he forced himself to focus as he felt a wild amount of power flow through his body and into the sword. Suddenly, his sword started to turn bright blue and lightning bolts blasted out of the sword and at the robots. When the bolts connected, though, they were just absorbed by the force fields and shot back at Noel, knocking him down and finally shattering his shield. _'No! This…this is…impossible!'_ he thought. _'I…I…may have…one chance left. I was hoping…not to have to use this because…it takes so much of my energy, but I have…nothing left!'_ Using every ounce of will power and strength he had left, he defiantly rose to his feet once again, weaker than ever before, and put his sword out in front of him. "Let's see you adapt this!" he cried. "Light Beam!" He struck the ground with his sword, and a column of light exploded from the ground and closed around the multitude, turning them to dust.

"Assimilate…that…" Noel groaned, as he collapsed into a heap on the ground. He noticed a silhouette block out the sun in front of him, but he didn't have enough energy to focus on it. Then, darkness overtook him…

A/N: Well, I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter. Slow, maybe, but I hope the action scenes are improving a little. There are going to be a couple more flashback scenes, and then I get into some of the more fun stuff (when I say fun, I mean the stuff that I actually love writing. As much as I love this story, there are some parts that are just tedious to write). Tell me what you think. READ AND REVIEW!

Reviewer's Section:

**KyLewin:** Sorry, fluff is my forte. Ha ha! Yeah, maybe Alice should've been a little more ticked, but the fact that she had faith in him that he wouldn't really hurt her calmed her down some. If she didn't trust him, she wouldn't have agreed on the little trip at all. As for everything else…all in due time.


	14. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot

A/N: Well, I planned on getting this up a couple of weeks ago, but I'm just too darn lazy for my own good. I don't get to play any video games up at college (technically) so I'm sort of catching up on all the new games that came out while I've been away. Combine that with work and the fact my brother just moved with his family, and I've been a busy little bee. Oh well, I'll try harder.

The next couple of chapters are going to be rough because I'm taking out some stuff. Hopefully it won't affect the time it takes to update (that's what my laziness is for). Not a whole lot to say. Please, please, please read and see what you think. If you read it, review it. Also, don't skip chapters otherwise you might not get what's going on, especially with what's coming up. I'm going to show the reason this story is in the Crossover category instead of the Legend of Zelda. If you must flame, keep it to a minimum.

Chapter 12

"Erg," Noel moaned wearily, as he painfully regained consciousness, "did anybody get the number of the semi that just hit me?"

"Save your strength," said a girl's voice. "You had a rough battle."

When he opened his eyes, he saw Alice standing over him. "Where am I?" he asked, as he attempted to sit up.

"You're in the lab."

"How…?" he questioned, looking over his body. Surprisingly, there was no evidence of a battle except for his shredded clothes.

"How did you get here?" she interrupted. "Dad, Tom, and I followed you in our van while you weren't watching. When you collapsed, we brought you back here."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"About two hours," Dr. Smithers said. "It should've been two weeks, though. Those canisters you have work wonders. I was surprised by how quickly you recovered."

"You found the canisters?" he asked, shaking the weariness from his head.

"I noticed that you have some high-tech medical equipment here," Dr. Smithers observed. "Rather than try and explain the whole situation to a hospital staff, we brought you back here and hooked you up. While we were gone, though, everybody else had had a look around and came across the canisters. Thinking they were some sort of soda, Matt drank one and was surprised to find himself full of energy. My wife thought it was just a sugar high, until she looked at a cut he got last week and was surprised to find it had fully healed."

"With no scar, I'm guessing," Noel smirked.

"Exactly," he commented. "Anyway, we gave it to you. That must've been some battle, though, for you to have to sleep for two hours on top of that. Where did you get something like that?"

"Once again, thank Zelda," he commented. "I took it from the properties of the Life Potion of her realm. Once I got the basic idea of it down, I started to make it in large quantities."

"Noel, how are you feeling?" Mrs. Smithers asked.

"Besides this whopper of a headache, I'm fine," Noel replied. "What happened to Ganondorf?"

"He returned to my realm," Zelda said. "He's plotting something. He wouldn't just give up; he must be waiting for us to let down our guard."

"Okay," Noel said, as he stood up, "that means that we only have one option."

"What?" Stefan asked.

"We wait him out," he simply stated.

"Huh?" they all exclaimed.

"Noel, what do you mean?" Matt asked.

"Yeah," Tom agreed, "what do mean by 'we'?"

"As much as I hate to say it, you're going to need to come with me."

"Why?" Dr. Smithers asked.

"Because he'll target you to get to me. I think you should stay close to me until this is over."

"So what's next?" Mrs. Smithers asked.

"We need to find out what Ganondorf's plan is," Noel replied. "Then we can plot our next move."

"Where do we start?" Alice asked.

"First, we'll go to my space base. From there I'll explain, in short form, everything that has happened between the beginning and now," Noel said, as he punched in a few buttons.

"Space base?" Tom asked.

He nodded and pushed a few more buttons. "Land Base to Space Base. Do you copy?" he said, as he spoke into a speaker.

"This is Space Base," crackled a voice from the speaker. "Go ahead."

"I need teleportation preparations for nine beings from here to the bridge."

A few seconds later, the voice came through the speaker, "Preparations complete. Teleport on your command."

"Now!"

A couple of seconds and a flash of light later, the laboratory faded away from them. Instead, another large room with just as many if not more, computer panels was in its place. "I feel cold on the outside but I'm burning up on the inside," Alice said shivering.

"Teleportation does that, but you'll get used to it," Noel replied.

"Whoa, this is like something out of a science fiction movie!" Tom exclaimed.

"Noel, this place is amazing!" Matt said.

"Yeah," Dr. Smithers agreed, "but where do you get the money and advanced technology to pay for all of this?"

"All in due time," Noel replied. "First, I want you to meet the members of this base." He turned to a speaker on the wall and spoke into it. "Would all personnel please report to the bridge?" He turned to a computer and pushed on the surface. "They'll be here soon," he said. "In the meantime, sit and relax, but don't touch anything."

A few minutes later, six teenagers about Noel's age walked into the room. "You wanted us?" a tall blond haired boy asked. He took a look at the Smithers, then at Zelda. "Princess?"

"Hello, Will," Zelda said.

"Noel, what's going on?" Will asked. "Is it Ganondorf?"

"Yes, it is," Noel replied, turning to them. "It seems he's more powerful than ever. A few hours ago, I had a confrontation with him. The creatures he summoned nearly wiped me out."

"Where is he now?"

"Zelda says that he's back in Hyrule."

"Noel," Alice said, getting up from where she was sitting, "what's going on?"

"Who is she?" Will asked.

"Whoa! Whoa! One question at a time! Let me start at the beginning," Noel said, sitting down. The others did likewise. "As most of you know, a couple years ago, an evil threat gripped our town. When I ran out, neither I, nor nobody else for that matter, figured that life would've changed this much for us. After a gruesome battle I was able to drive Ganondorf back to where he came from. Ganondorf is from the Hyrule realm. Realms, also known as zones, are parallel universes, but not necessarily always of Earth. You can find realms everywhere, or at least windows to them."

"Where?" asked Stefan.

"Like I said, everywhere," Noel replied. "You can find them just by looking at comic books, watching television, or probably the most common, playing video games."

"How do normal people know about these realms?" Mrs. Smithers asked.

"They don't," Noel said. "The realms have always been there, but people think that they've thought of something new. Even now, there are realms that haven't been 'discovered.'"

"How did you stumble upon Princess Zelda and the Hyrule realm?" Matt asked.

"It was more or less by accident. I was training with the Master Sword in a nearby field. As I was pushing myself to the limit, the power generated by the sword opened up a gateway that sucked me in. That's when I first arrived in Hyrule. After exploring for a bit, I came to Princess Zelda's castle. After a little bit of a confrontation with Impa, she noticed the similarities of my Master Sword to Hyrule's version."

"You mean there are two Master Swords?" Alice asked. "This is getting really confusing."

"In a word, yes," he replied. "The system of realms is confusing, but I'm not going to go into it right now. Anyway, where was I…oh, yes! Anyway, Zelda and I talked and we came to the agreement that Ganondorf was trying to take over different realms to gain a foothold to set up his new empire. He knew that someday the Hero of Time would appear and defeat him, but if he could somehow escape to another realm, he could avoid the final blow. In essence, he would be untouchable. My role is to ensure he doesn't to conquer any realms so he can't run anywhere."

"Where did you get all of this and how do you keep it a secret from everybody down below?" Dr. Smithers asked.

"Princess Zelda and I made a 'deal.' I could build the programs needed to keep track of the realms, but I didn't have the resources to build the computers large enough to hold the information. And there was no way I could trust the government to help! So, instead, I asked Zelda to lend the finances and manpower and I would handle the rest. In the end, we both win. As for the blueprints for the lab and space base, I got all the knowledge from the Hyrulian libraries. At first glance, you could never tell, but the Hyrulians are much more advanced than we are. It took some time, but with some help from the Hyrulians that had taken Zelda in and from my crew, I was able to complete everything." He paused then started again. "As for how everything is kept so hush-hush, the government is at least useful for something. They keep everybody of any real significance quiet, and I use a special device called a Neuralizer from the Men in Black realm for everybody else. With it, I can wipe a person's memory of the event. Fortunately, I don't have to use it here that often, and since most of the realms I visit are used to this sort of thing, it isn't necessary at all. I use it mainly for keeping the peace. If too many people found out about this, there would be trouble. With the big jobs, I rely on my crew. They clean up the messes that Ganondorf makes here." He pushed a button on the console and it showed a view of the city, though the destruction that Ganondorf had caused had been repaired. "It takes a bit of doing, but there is technology that will repair something to its previous state."

"What…what about…the people who died?" Mrs. Smithers asked hesitantly. Noel looked at her briefly with a sorrowful look before turning away.

"No…" he said slowly. "There's no way of bringing them back." There was a long pause before Noel broke the silence.

"Um…anyway, I'd like you to meet my crew. This ship has six decks to it. The first deck is where the quarters, or rooms, are. The second deck is the recreational area. It has a virtual reality center, pool and hot tub, cafeteria, and other things to do on one's free time. The third deck is the bridge, which we're on now. Will, Lilly and Lance operate this deck. The fourth deck is the sick bay and Kara operates this deck. The fifth deck is the floor with the power generators that provide energy throughout the base. This deck is run by Erik and Seth," Noel said, as he pointed to each of them. The group immediately noticed that each wore a different color jumpsuit with matching boots.

Will was tall and handsome, with blond hair that was long enough to fall over the blue headband he was wearing and had a twinkle in his blue eyes. At his side, attached to his forest green jumpsuit, was the wooden flute he had found when he was younger. His expression was soft, yet serious, like that of a seasoned warrior.

Lilly was a bit shorter than Will, with unusually naturally-looking light blue hair that went just a little bit past her ears. Her blue-green eyes complimented her hair style and gave off the beauty that looked like emeralds swimming in a sea of sapphires. Her smile was beautified her already striking countenance. She sported a light gray uniform.

Lance was built much like Will, except for being a little more muscular and his bashful, baby green eyes. Unlike Will's ruffled hair, his was more neatly combed downward. His aura gave a sense of calmness and dependability, almost like the tranquility of the ocean blue he wore.

Kara was a little shorter than Will, with long, jet-black hair that stretched a little bit past her shoulders, and dark brown eyes that shed a certain aura of beauty around her gentle face. She wore orange that had a hint of pink in it. In her hair was an orangish-pink hairband that matched her stunning suit.

Seth was about Noel's height and skinnier. Like Lilly, he had unusual naturally-looking purple hair, which matched his deep royal lavender jumpsuit. His light brown eyes behind his thin glasses radiated his intelligence. He seemed shy and reserved, nodding slightly when Noel said his name.

Though everybody else appeared to be about fifteen years old, Erik was a little younger than the rest. He had reddish-orange hair that was cut into a neat mushroom-cut, and his bit heavysetness filled out his midnight black jumpsuit. However, his brown eyes gave away that he was wiser then his age.

"As for the questions on my crew's part, guys, I'd like you to meet the Smithers," Noel said.

Suddenly, alarms sounded and everyone jumped up with a start. "Noel, what's happening?" Alice asked.

"I don't know," Noel replied. "Computer, activate the realm search program and on screen."

Several small screens appeared, but only one started to flash. "It's on Earth!" Will exclaimed. "Computer, zoom in!"

A robot appeared on the screen. "Noel, it's…" Lance stated.

"…Sunstar!" Noel finished fiercely. Sunstar had human features, and was covered in orange and dark blue armor with a few stripes of yellow painted on here and there. One of his hands had shifted back into his arm, revealing a powerful cannon that was devastating buildings with potent blasts of energy. At the knees, shoulders, and helmet, orange and yellow sun symbols were painted on. "It looks like he's finishing what Ganondorf started."

"Noel, it looks like he's been updated since your last battle. You might not stand a chance," Will said.

"I…I know," he said almost in a whisper before gathering his courage again. "But I have to at least try! Lilly! Lance! I'm probably going to need backup. Be ready for my signal, okay?"

"Okay," Lilly said for both of them, as they went to their stations.

"Noel, be careful!" Kara said.

"Don't worry, I will return," he said, teleporting out.

A few minutes later, everyone looked at the screen to see him deliver a fierce flying kick to Sunstar's head, sending him into a building.

OOO

"Hey, Sunstar, guess who's back!" Noel exclaimed, dropping into a fighting stance as Sunstar pulled himself out of the rubble. "You know, I just picked up this mess, and you come along and screw it all up again."

"Stop resisting! This town now belongs to the great Ganondorf!" Sunstar boomed. Noel said nothing, but rather unsheathed his sword as he charged. In response, a yellow and orange sword appeared in Sunstar's hand as he countered. Noel was on the offensive as he skillfully handled his blade, but with every strike came a block. Noel was only slightly surprised that the robot moved so smoothly. Soon their swords were locked together and their faces were only inches apart.

"You know," Noel smirked, "for a guy that can use magic, I would think that he could make you better looking." Sunstar's face contorted in rage as they broke apart and jumped back a few feet. "Ooo, looks I hit a nerve," he taunted. Sunstar's rage grew as he turned his body to one side, pointing his sword directly at Noel. Suddenly, though, his sneer turned into a smirk, then a wild wave of laughter. "I guess I missed the joke," he said.

"You can be sure this is no joke!" he shouted, turning his body to reveal the arm cannon full of energy. "Nova Blast!" Noel dodged to the side to avoid the massive blast that followed, but the beam nicked his right side. He clutched it in pain as blood began to flow from the wound. Before he could respond, though, Sunstar delivered a powerful kick to his face, sending it to the dirt. "So, how does it feel?" Sunstar gloated, pointing his cannon directly into his face while holding him down with his foot on Noel's chest. "How does it feel to look into your Angel of Death?"

"Personally," Noel gasped in a laugh, "I thought…angels…were supposed to be…beautiful. You're just…downright ugly!" Sunstar's face returned to a contorted sneer.

"Die!" he said, as his arm cannon began gathering energy again. What he didn't see, though, was Noel slowly reaching for the Master Sword, which he had dropped from the kick.

"Don't…count me out yet!" he claimed, bringing the sword up and slicing Sunstar across the stomach. A dark fluid, probably oil, began to flow as circuitry also began to spark. Noel jumped to his feet, trying to ignore the pain in his side and face. Suddenly, a blue beam exploded from the heavens and into Sunstar's open wound and out the other side, causing a large explosion that kicked up a massive amount of dust.

When the dust cleared, the two fighters were just standing there, staring each other down. Sunstar was heavily damaged from the blast, but was somehow still functional. Noel was gasping heavily for breaths, his side killing him, but fighting through the pain. He could feel the blood draining from his body quickly, though, but he was determined to finish his opponent once and for all. Noel brought the Master Sword using his free hand as Sunstar did the same, and the fight was renewed again.

OOO

"Whoa," Stefan said, after he had watched about fifty cannons combine into a giant beam and fire towards one spot on Earth.

"That's nothing," Will said. "That's only half of the plasma guns. This base is also equipped with the most advanced defensive shields and technology."

"Exactly how big is this thing?" Mrs. Smithers asked.

"Let's just say that if this thing were to ever crash into the Earth, it could instantly wipe out all of North America and the upper half of Central America."

"Why so big?" Alice asked.

"Occasionally, we have to take care of extremely large groups of people. This thing can hold about a thousand people, and that's only bedroom wise. You could call it the 'Titanic' of outer space," Will answered.

"What about oxygen and power?" Tom asked.

"The power generators take care of all of that."

"How do they work?" Tom asked again.

"They're pretty complicated. I don't know if you would understand," Will replied casually, absentmindedly waving his hand in a dismissing manner. This only prodded Tom further.

"Try me," he dared.

Will let out a deep sigh and shook his head. "Okay," he began resignedly, "we have three generators: a manual generator, a solar generator, and an emergency generator. Like the names imply, the solar generator runs on the energy given from the sun. The other generators store the energy from the solar generator for later use. When the power is absorbed, it is divided in half. Half of it is automatically put to use, while the other half is halved again and stored in the manual and emergency generator equally."

"How can this whole base run on only half the power given by the sun?" Alice asked, surprised.

"Rather than just having solar panels, the base itself is a giant panel. This means that the base will absorb any amount of the sun at any time. It's actually a lot of power when you factor in how large the base is," Lilly replied. "Plus, the weapons and shields rely on a whole different power source, mainly energy crystals. Occasionally we might need to reroute some power from the generators, but anything else that needs power doesn't drain too much from the generators."

"I think I got all that," Alice replied. "So this thing is in essence one giant rechargeable battery."

"I guess you could put it that way," she responded.

"What happens when one goes out?" Matt asked.

"If it's either the normal generator or emergency generator, then we don't have to worry too much. However, if the solar generator gives out, then we have a slight problem," Erik spoke up.

"What happens?" Mrs. Smithers asked.

"If one generator shuts down, the stored power is stuck there and can't be obtained. We're trying to work around that problem, but it's slow going. If the solar generator goes out, we have to conserve as much stored power as we possibly can from the other generators, because the flow of power to them will have stopped. Stored power decreases at a certain rate depending on what's on and being used."

"Has that ever happened?" Dr. Smithers asked.

Seth nodded. "It's happened twice since we first started out. It got so bad the second time around that we ran out of oxygen and had to teleport to the land base. You see, oxygen is created up here through a complex system rather than brought up here. However, we need the generators to run that system."

"How did you get back up and running?" Stefan asked.

"Noel put in mini-oxygen tanks on each deck. These tanks can hold about five minutes of air each and are scattered strategically along the floor. He, Seth, and Erik teleported back here with a couple of air tanks each."

"I'm guessing they couldn't fix it with just ten minutes of air, correct?" Alice asked.

"No, with that ten minutes, they searched out all the air tanks on each deck that was on the way. The teleportation mechanism is set by default to bring people to the bridge. However, it was a couple of floors down and the pressure was still on. They ran into a couple of problems on the way, mainly with the elevators, but they quickly overcame them and fixed the generator."

"What kind of problems?" Alice asked.

"With the power either out or dangerously low, the elevator didn't work, so they had to work around that quickly. Then there was getting to the other air tanks before their air ran out. Typical problems you might run into." Suddenly, a voice rang through the speakers.

"Guys, I could use a little help here!"

"Noel!" Alice cried, turning her gaze once again towards the monitor. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lilly close her eyes and let out a sigh. Abruptly, she opened them again.

"His aura is really weak," she said. "But according to the computer readouts, Sunstar won't last much longer either. However, we need one good shot. Seth, reroute all the emergency weapon and defense power into the main weapon crystals. We've got to make this count!" Seth promptly did as he was told, and energy began to flow into the console that Lilly was sitting at. "Lasers are at full power," she said calmly, as she locked on. Everybody turned to the screen to see Noel holding off another Nova Blast attack with his free arm, and losing desperately. "Fire!" Another giant beam collected in front of the base and homed in on one spot…

OOO

_'I don't know how much longer I can keep this up,'_ Noel thought, struggling to gain control of the energy. Over the last two years, he had learned to manipulate his energy to create an energy beam from his hand, thus he could keep the massive attack at bay. Unfortunately, his side was still killing him, though the blood flow had lessened, and his energy was beginning to give way. Suddenly, a blue beam ripped through the sky and struck Sunstar again, this time ripping through his left shoulder and out his right thigh. Noel took the last bit of his energy and deflected the energy into the sky and away from the already devastated city. "It's over," Noel said to Sunstar in between deep breaths. "You lose." As he began to walk over, he picked up the Master Sword that he had dropped before blocking the attack.

"No…" Sunstar crackled. "I will…win. But…not today…I will…be back." Before Noel could take another step, Sunstar slowly vanished back to the evil being that sent him.

A/N: I hope the action scene's kept everybody satisfied. I promise to do better in the future. I didn't proofread very much, so tell me if anything sticks out. I tried to explain the properties of the realms as best I could, but there's a lot more to it that I just couldn't cover here. Don't worry, though, this part of the story focuses in on that. The next set of sub-stories is the major action/drama part. Fear not, though, there will be action in this sub-story as well. Anyway, READ AND REVIEW!

Reviewer's Corner:

**KyLewin:** I'm glad to see I'm doing better. I've had to put a lot of thought into all of this and every time I looked at this story I could never expand it. Now ideas just keep coming like clockwork. As for the Borg, I don't know if they'll show up again or not. They were kind of a last minute add in instead of what I had previously. Basically, I'm starting to move away from the Legend of Zelda focus and into other crossovers. Ganondorf will still be the main villain and the story will still have a single storyline, but I created this to combine several of my favorite characters. If I get reviews saying that they want to see more of the Borg, I might put them back in there if it's not too late. The flashbacks are all stuff I'm adding, so as long as I can make it fit the storyline, I can put it in. There is a definite end, though, and I only really have one window of opportunity to add stuff. But that's not for awhile still, though. I think that's about it; I hope I was clear. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter.


	15. Memories of the Past Part 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and OC's

A/N: Wow, almost three months! I didn't expect this update to take that long. I must admit, part of it was that I was lazy during the summer, but half of it was part of writer's block. I knew I had to rewrite what I had, I just didn't know how to do it. This chapter is at least four times the length of the original. I hope you people enjoy this.

Please review, I'd like to know who all is reading this story. The more people, the more inclined I am to update. I'm not going to abandon the story, but I'll definitely make it more of a priority to update faster. Now without further ado…

Memories of the Past (part 3)

"Teleporting now," Lance said, pushing a couple of buttons on the control panel. There was a bright flash as Noel materialized almost in a heap onto the bridge.

"Noel!" Alice shouted, as she and Will rushed to support him.

"Don't," he said weakly, pulling away slightly while protecting his side. Most of the color had drained from his face from the lack of blood, and he looked like he was on the edge of death. "I'm…fine. Besides…your parents would finish what Sunstar started…if I let you get my blood on your clothes," he joked faintly.

"Don't even pull that with me," she replied sharply, as her father joined her.

"That's a pretty bad wound there," he said, getting closer to examine it.

"Heh, it's practically…stopped bleeding. It's just a scratch," Noel replied casually, but winced when Dr. Smithers slightly touched it. "Or not."

"Excuse me," Kara said politely, moving past the Smithers to Noel. In her hand was an energy canister. "Here, tough guy, this will fix you up in no time."

"Thanks, Kara," he replied, popping the top and hastily downing it. A pale green aura surrounded him as he drank, and the wound began to fill in with fresh flesh and color filled his cheeks again. "What would I ever do without you?" he asked rhetorically.

"Probably spending most of your time in the hospital," she said, returning the joke. "Noel made the formula for the drink, but he never makes time to actually make it himself. So instead I have to do it. You wouldn't believe how many canisters he goes through," she said, turning to the Smithers.

"Well, I imagine so, with his training and all," Mrs. Smithers replied.

"Training? Oh, no, he's just a big klutz, that's all!" she laughed.

"I believe it," Alice agreed, joining in the laugh.

"Uh, excuse me!" Noel sharply cut in. "I am standing right here!

OOO

"So how did you meet Will and the others?" Alice asked, later that day as Noel was giving her a tour. "Why'd you bring them to work here?"

"It's actually kind of complicated," Noel responded. "It ties into the whole different parallel universe system and how to navigate it. As for how we met, it goes something like this…"

_South Cape. The quiet little coastal city had changed so much since the young Will had defeated Dark Gaia and sent the Chaos Comet rocketing to the uttermost parts of the universe, never to be seen again. Two years had passed and buildings had almost sprouted magically where trees had been years ago. The town was a full-blown city now, but still one thing hadn't changed. There was an old cave by the harbor that Will and his friends would go and play cards after school would let out. It was a peaceful time. But, of course, no peace has ever lasted long._

"_Hey, did you hear about those fighter planes that are mysteriously disappearing?" Kara asked, sitting next to Will at the wooden table. "It's all over the news. They say that's it's the fifth one this week. Strange, huh?"_

"_I don't know," Will said, still concentrating on his card game with Seth, Erik, and Lance. "After exploring ancient ruins, transforming into legendary warriors, and destroying countless monsters, I hardly think anything like this is too interesting. I mean, I know they're testing some new guidance systems. Perhaps something went haywire and they just lost track of them. They'll show up in another week or so."_

"_Will, I can't believe you!" she exclaimed, totally catching his attention this time. Usually she would only raise her voice to him nowadays if he did, or said in this case, something really stupid, which he had done often in his two years of dating her. "Five pilots have been lost. What if they're hurt, or worse? Aren't you concerned at all?" At this point, the others had put down their cards and watched with amusement as the two love-birds went at it. Even Lilly, who had been busy fixing a leak in the ceiling, stopped to watch. Over the last couple of years she had become more mellow, leaving anything that needed to be said up to Lance, her boyfriend. Of course, that didn't mean that she didn't set him straight every now and then, but she was content to lead a quiet life again._

"_Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Will apologized. "I'll go talk to Gaia and see if she has anything to say about it, okay?"_

"_Thank you, Will," Kara said sweetly. As he got up to leave, she added. "Will, it's not just the pilots I'm concerned about. My uncle is up next to fly. I just…I just want to make sure he'll be okay." Will's face softened a little. Two years ago, Kara wouldn't have cared about anybody but herself. Over the years she had become one of the most caring people he had ever met._

"_Don't worry," he comforted. "I promise to do whatever I can." He left the cave and wandered up to the roof of the schoolhouse where he had spent his whole life. Looking over the railing, he could see the house where he lived with his grandparents after his parents had passed away. Who knew that that fateful trip with his dad to the Tower of Babel would set off a chain of events leading to this moment? The school had also grown with the town, but one thing that hadn't changed was a swirling ball of sparkling light at one corner of the roof. He remembered the first time he had seen it, and how surprised he was when it opened up into what seemed like outer space. 'Dark Space, I believe she called it,' he thought, recalling his first encounter with the being known as Gaia. He wasn't completely sure, but he thought he was the only one who could see the portal leading to the other world, probably because of his Dark Knight lineage._

_Without wasting anymore time, he approached the ball of light and, as if it was an automatic door, it opened to reveal blue tiles that seemed to float in the endless reaches of space. It never ceased to amaze him that even though he stepped onto the tiles, they would never move an inch. They would always stay in the formation that they had been placed in. He looked up and saw her, Gaia, standing in a long purple gown. She had dark tanned skin and long, flowing black and violet hair, and dark brown eyes that matched her skin color. As he walked towards her, the door behind him shut. He knew it would open for him if he approached it, though, so he wasn't worried. "It's been a long time. I see you've made some changes in the last couple of years as well," Will said respectfully._

"_You've grown up, too, Will. Don't forget, I've been watching you," she replied with a beautiful smile._

"_Then I suppose you know why I'm here," he said grimly, cutting straight to the chase._

"_Yes," she replied with an equal tone. "I've been expecting you. Kara was right to suspect trouble. I've been sensing a serious amount of dark power for some time now. I know you think you can handle whatever it is on your own, but I have someone in mind that I think can help. Don't be fooled by his size or age; I've seen him in extreme circumstances such as yours and he has overcome with great courage. He is still young, though, so your age and experience could help him."_

"_So what, I'm supposed to be a baby-sitter now, too?" he asked. He was certainly not expecting this._

"_Will, your actions could very well determine the future of more than this world," she said firmly. "I think you'll be surprised by how mature he is already. I simply see this as training for his trials to come."_

"_I suppose," Will said hesitantly. He was still unsure, but he respected her judgment. "So when do I meet him?"_

"_Tomorrow," she said. "I will arrange it so he comes. He has a longer journey than you can imagine." He began to walk away and report back to his friends, but Gaia called out to him again. "Will," she said, causing him to turn slightly, "the danger you're about to face is too much with your normal abilities alone. There is no Dark Space to retreat to where you're going. That's why I've decided to give you the ability to transform at will. With Freedan and Shadow's power constantly by your side, along with your friends, nothing will stand in your way." He looked down through the tiles and saw a strange statue of himself float up from the endless space and connect itself to one of the outside tiles. "Stand before the statue and gain your new power." He complied, and the blue orb of energy the statue was holding floated upwards for a moment before descending and being absorbed into Will's body. "It is done. Now go; the world needs you once more." He looked down at himself for a moment before nodding confidently to her._

"Is this the same Gaia that you told me about?" Alice interrupted.

"You mean the one I met during my mission to get the Green Emerald Ring? Yeah, the one and the same," he replied.

"But how is that…?"

"Possible?" he finished and she nodded.

"Well, that's where it becomes a little more…complicated to explain, but I'll try my best," he responded, looking for the right words. "Will and the others come from a different realm. Every parallel universe is connected in a web of portals. For instance, Gaia's Dark Space is connected to Will's realm through the gateway. However, she can change the co-ordinates so it connects to this realm. That's a more subtle way of realm transportation. Now, however, I can use the Master Sword to freely open gateways to other worlds, but it's dangerous because I have to be totally focused when I do it or else I could end up somewhere I don't want to be. Another, more reliable, way of realm hopping is through the use of technology on this ship. By entering co-ordinates into the computer, it can safely create a tear in the space-time continuum. Similarly, a strong enough wave of energy could create a rip, but doing so could upset the balance and cause reality as we know it to totally cave in."

"I think I got all that," she said. "But how is the Dark Space a more subtle way of traveling?"

"Only people like Will and myself can see the portal. Will has the blood of the Dark Knights flowing through him, while I have Guardian blood. Also, anybody with extreme potential could possibly see it, too, that's why Jordan could see it. On the other hand, every other way creates a visible hole in reality. And, unlike Gaia's portal, there is a space-time gap between two worlds. Depending on how wide the gap is between the worlds determines the length of time spent. Of course, time is relative when you're dealing with alternate dimensions. I know one place that one day here would equal one year."

"One last question, and then I'll let you continue," she said. "How is it that you both defeated the Chaos Comet? Is this another parallel universe thing?"

"Er…sort…of," he said slowly. He barely understood the physics behind the answer, but decided to give her a chance to try and understand. "As I told you before, the Black Mages created a ring to control the comet when they discovered it during the Great War. Rather, though, the ring acted like a magnet. After the comet left Earth's orbit, it returned in the opposite direction towards Will's Earth. The comet releases an extreme amount of energy during travel. I surmise that somewhere during its original course, it reacted with something in space and opened a tear. Since natural portals have set co-ordinates it would move to and from Will's realm and this one. I guess you could think of it as a giant ping-pong table and the comet was the ball. After his battle, he sent it back this way and it probably had enough reserve energy to open the portal one last time. It drains energy from the creatures it mutates. Using that energy, it can open the portal and still have enough power to radiate its mutating power. However, since Will drained it of its extra energy, it's now contained in one universe. It would have continued the cycle here in this galaxy, but Jordan and I drained it of the rest of its power, making it just a normal, harmless comet. Anyway, Gaia knew about all this and thought that I should help Will with this mission."

"I just thought of something," she said. "You said Gaia said that he was older than you. How much older?"

"Let's see," he recalled, "I think they were fifteen when it happened, and then adding two years to that would make them seventeen, and then I was about eleven at the time, so I guess that would make them about six years older than me."

"They're twenty-one years old now?" she exclaimed. "They don't look much older than us!"

"They hide their age well, don't they?" he asked with a smile. "Anyway, where was I…oh, yes! This is where I come into the story."

"_Noel…" a voice whispered to me from the darkness of my bedroom. Rarely did anybody use my real name. Only my mom and close friends knew that information, and kept it secret for safety issues. Usually I go by Noah. "Noel…" it whispered to me again._

"_What…what do you want?" I asked. I had become accustomed to the strange things that had been happening recently after finding the Green Emerald Ring, but that didn't mean I wasn't a little skittish._

"_Come to me, Noel…" the voice said. "You're needed again…"_

"_Who are you?" I asked, slowly rising from my bed. "And where do I find you?"_

"_Follow my voice…" The air around me began to move subtly as the voice moved away._

"_Who are you?" I repeated. "Why should I trust you?"_

"_You…must…" I took a couple of steps forward to hear. Peeking out my door, obviously no one else could hear the conversation I was having with this mysterious intruder. They probably though I was sleep-walking. I'm sure my mom was on high alert to make sure I wouldn't do anything dangerous, but I couldn't make out any movement coming from her room. "Don't worry…they are all asleep…" it assured, as if reading my thoughts. "Come to me…They are all waiting for you…"_

"_Who is waiting for me?" I asked, taking another couple of steps. A small glow of light shown from underneath the door to the basement steps as I exited the hallway to my bedroom and entered the foyer._

"_Noel…you are the only one that can help them solve this mystery…"_

'_What I'd like is to solve this mystery,' I thought, opening the door to find a big surprise. The light that I saw didn't move like normal light. It didn't illuminate the surroundings and then disperse into darkness; it acted like a shadow, as if it was following somebody. As strange and freaky as it looked, I found myself placing one foot in front of the other as I slowly crept down the stairs. I turned one corner to find the intruder slowly making its way into the laundry room. Slowly, I stole along the wall to the laundry room door. Taking a deep breath, I turned the corner to find the light slink into the small corridor that led to our sump pump. 'It's a dead end,' I thought. 'I've got you now!' I reached for a nearby broom and tried the light switch, thinking I was far enough away that the light wouldn't attract any attention from my family members. To my surprise, though, it didn't work! 'Bulb must be burned out,' I surmised. I didn't like the idea of facing my adversary in the dark, but at least they wouldn't be overly difficult to see with that light following them._

"_Come to me…" it whispered again. I tensed as I made my way across the laundry-cluttered floor and to the entrance of the corridor. The sight before me astounded me; in front of the sump pump was a swirling ball of light. The light I saw before was part of the ball; it had been beckoning me like a hand. The voice was ever present. "Come forward, Noel…" it said. Hesitantly, I did as I was told. When I was only a couple of steps from it, it opened wide to reveal what was seemingly endless space with multitudes of stars. Startled, I jumped back, causing the portal to close again._

"_Wait, I've seen this before…" I said out loud. "This is just like when I was with Jordan." I walked forward again, more confidently this time. "Hello, Gaia," I said, walking into the portal. The fear that had been inside me had vanished._

"_Greetings Noah, or should I say Noel?" she said pleasantly._

"_Please, Noah is fine," I said respectfully. "Now why have you called me here, and why in the world is there a Dark Space in my basement?"_

"_Your perception is growing," she answered simply. "As it grows, you will find more of my Dark Spaces scattered about. As for your mission, a dark power has arisen in my native world. You must go and find the cause and stop it before it causes havoc."_

"_Wait a second," I replied. "I thought this was your native world."_

"_I have merely been chosen as a Watch-keeper. I was born just as you were, just very long ago. However, a threat as arisen that my Chosen One can't handle on his own. You must help him."_

"_Okay," I said slowly. "And what difference will I play?"_

"_I sense a darker power pulling the strings here. You must find the source and stop it before it spreads. I fear that my world is not the only one in danger from this threat. If gone unchecked, everyone is doomed."_

"_That's some pretty serious stuff you're throwing at me, but I'll do whatever I can," I said. "It's just, I need to get my partners. They would be a great help."_

"_They are already waiting for you. Now go." I nodded, and as I stepped back the portal opened for me. To my surprise, though, it did not open to my dark laundry room, but onto a tall building in a coastal town. When I stepped out of the portal, my pajamas magically changed into the clothes I would normally wear for an assignment._

"_Well, it took you long enough," a voice said to me from the side. I turned to find my new partners, Brent and Keith. Jordan had just moved away, but they were more than willing to fill in the gap._

"_Har, har," I replied sarcastically. "Gaia filled me in," I said, looking past the two to a group of people behind them. "I take it you need our help."_

"_I'm Will," Will introduced, extending his hand. "Gaia thought you might be useful. Excuse my bluntness, but I did save this world from the Chaos Comet…" A throat cleared behind him, and he turned to see Kara giving him a death stare. "Sorry, we saved this world," he corrected himself nervously, motioning to his friends, "and I honestly don't see the point in having a kid tagging along for this. No offense, of course," he added quickly._

_I gave a quick smirk, taking his hand. "None taken," I reassured. "Well, Will, since we are working together, we may as well get along. I think if Gaia thought it would be best, she probably had a good reason. So I guess the question is, where do we start?"_

"_The airport is only about an hour from here," Kara said. "We can grab a bus at the corner, and my uncle will show us around from there. We have to be careful, though, this is an air force base airport."_

"_Sounds good," I said. "Will?"_

"_Same here," he agreed._

_When we arrived at the airport, Kara flashed a special pass at the guard to let us in. Naturally, he was a little suspicious of a large group of teenagers entering an air force base, but with a little "verbal persuasion" from Kara, and the salvation of the guard by her uncle, we managed to get through. "Kara, you haven't changed a bit from when you were younger," the man said jokingly, taking us to a secluded spot to talk. He was about six feet, with combed-over dark brown hair. His ocean blue eyes mixed with a strangely gentle face that contrasted with his muscular build. He was in a full air force uniform that consisted of many medals on the pockets. "You're still the fireball I remember you as," he said in his gruff, militaristic voice._

"_Oh, Uncle Paul, stop!" she exclaimed. "You're embarrassing me!"_

"_So who are you friends?" he asked, looking over at the others._

"_They're here to investigate the disappearances," she said, and his face went dark._

"_Kara…"_

"_I know, I know," she quickly interrupted. "We've been through this, but please give them a chance. You're about to fly next, and I don't…I don't…" She choked back the tears._

"_Okay, okay," he relented. "I never could say no to my favorite niece."_

"_I'm your only niece!" she said, pulling out of her act, surprising him. "This is Will, Lilly, Lance, Seth, Erik, Brent, Keith, and Noah," she said quickly, pointing to each of them._

"_Just call me Uncle Paul," he said to us. "Still the drama queen, I see," he said, folding his arms. "Some things never change." She gave him a sweet smile and he turned to the others. "Well, I'm sure you're well aware by now that the planes lost were fighter planes. Part of my job on this flight is to figure out what happened up there. Unfortunately, we only have one plane, so I won't be able to take all of you."_

"_That's probably just as well, sir," I said. "Do we have any idea where they disappeared at?"_

"_There's a general vicinity of about a five mile radius on the ground," he replied. "You thinking there might be some witnesses?"_

"_I'm not sure," I replied. "Is the area country or more residential?"_

"_Not highly residential, but there are some people out that way. It's still about a four hour drive there, though."_

"_That's okay," I reassured, partly turning to the group. "If you could fit maybe me and Will with you in the plane, everybody else can cover the witnesses. With this large of a group, you guys might be able to find something of interest." Though everybody wanted to fly, they reluctantly agreed to the plan. Well, almost everybody…_

"_Hold on a second!" Kara exclaimed. "I don't want to miss out on this!"_

"_Kara…" Will started, trying to persuade her._

"_Don't 'Kara' me, Will," she said aggressively. "And don't tell me it's too dangerous. Don't forget, I was with you when you fought Dark Gaia."_

"_That's because we were fused as the Firebird…" Suddenly a thought hit him. "Noah, you can ride with her uncle, and Kara and I can follow as the Firebird."_

"_Care to fill me in on what you're thinking?" I asked cluelessly._

"_Same here," Uncle Paul said._

"_Oh yeah, you don't know about our little adventure," Will said sheepishly._

"_Forget it, you can tell me the whole story later," he said. "What's your plan?"_

"_Gaia gave me the ability to transform at will," he said, turning to me. "You ride with her uncle, and Kara and I will fuse into the Firebird and follow you." I contemplated the situation for a moment before Keith spoke up._

"_I think it would be the better of the two options," he said. "Having two fliers out there would be safer."_

"_We'll fly above the plane, too," Will added. "That way, nobody will see us from the ground._

"_Okay," I agreed. "Sounds like a plan to me."_

"_I'm supposed to be taking off immediately," Uncle Paul said. "You should transform now and we can get this thing underway."_

"_What about your superiors?" Lilly asked. "Do they know about this?"_

"_Hm," he mused. "I think I might be able to work something out with Noah. The rest of you need to stay here, though."_

"_We'll wait for you up in the sky and stay off the radar," Will added._

"_Here, take this," he replied, handing Will a small earpiece. "This will enable us to stay in contact in the air. It's on a different frequency so nobody will hear what we're saying." Will nodded and handed the piece over to Lance to hold until after he had transformed. As soon as Noah and Uncle Paul left, Will turned to Kara and took her hand in his._

"_You ready for this?" he asked rhetorically._

"_Are you always itching for an adventure?" she replied in the same manner. "Firebird Transformation!" they said together. They closed their eyes and a white ball of sparkling light enveloped them. When it was finished, there was only one figure standing._

"_My name…is Shadow, Firebird form," the figure said to the speechless group. He had taken on Will's height, but the resemblance stopped there. He floated just a few inches off the ground and appeared to be a strange mixture of fire and water._

_Despite the elemental appearances, though, a masculine figure could still be distinguished._ _"Here…you'll be…needing this," Lance said, handing Shadow the com-link._

"_I have a job to do," the being replied simply. "I must be going."_

_OOO_

"_Sergeant, what do you think you're doing?" a senior officer asked, as Uncle Paul and Noah attempted to get into the plane._

"_I was planning to take my nephew here on the flight with me, sir?" he responded, snapping to attention._

"_And what exactly is possessing you to take a civilian on a test run?" he exclaimed, almost in his face._

"_Sir, my nephew is experiencing a terminal disease, sir, and he wanted to see what it was like before he…before he…" Uncle Paul stuttered intentionally._

"_Pull yourself together, officer," the officer commanded. "You disgrace this unit with such emotion. I will allow this only this once, but anything else needs to go by me first. Is that understood?"_

"_Sir, yes, sir!" Uncle Paul saluted._

'_Oh, my goodness,' I thought. 'I don't know what's worse, the fact that that had to have been the worst story ever, or that he believed it.'_

"_Come on, 'nephew,'" Uncle Paul nudged. "We'd better get moving before anybody else decides to question us.'_

"_Okay, 'uncle,'" I whispered to him, as I climbed up the ladder. "I still can't believe you pulled that one off. I guess it runs in the family," I added once the cockpit door was closed. He turned slightly and just gave a smirk. "I suppose if it was the only way, though…"_

"_Get ready for takeoff," he said, and I quickly put on the necessary equipment. The G's were incredible as we screamed down the runway and took off into the air. When we got a short ways from the airport, I saw a strange being flying above the cockpit. "I'm guessing that's Will," Uncle Paul deduced._

"_Will, is that you?" I asked warily._

"_My name is Shadow, but yes, I am the person you're waiting for. Now to the business at hand, where are we headed?" the being asked through the com-link._

"_At our current speed, we'll be there in about an hour," he said, making a few adjustments on the consoles._

"_Anything I can do?" I asked._

"_Either keep your eyes peeled, or take a nap," he replied seriously. "I've got to keep an eye on the guidance system." I watched for a while, but slowly drowsiness began to overcome me, despite the high speeds we were moving at. The more I thought about it, the more I remembered that I had been pulled from my bed early in the night and therefore didn't get the sleep I normally did. An hour passed quickly and I was aroused by an untimely, "Holy crap, what is that?" I looked over the side of the cockpit where Uncle Paul was looking and saw a large circle of light in the sky._

"_I don't know," I replied. "Shadow, can you take a closer look?"_

"_I'll try," came the reply. "But I sense a large amount of dark power flowing out of it. You two had better get far away from here." Before we could respond, five fighter jets screeched out of the hole one at a time._

"_Um, I don't think that's a good thing!" I cried._

"_Hold on, we're initiating evasive maneuvers," Uncle Paul said, screaming between a couple of the fighters. I took a quick glance and saw that there was no pilot in the cockpit._

"_I didn't think these things could run on auto-pilot," I informed._

"_It must be the guidance system!" Uncle Paul replied, concentrating fiercely on staying alive. "No doubt these are the missing planes." Suddenly, a missile streaked by us, narrowly missing our wing._

"_We have to get out of here!" I said._

"_We can't!" he replied, narrowly escaping another missile and some gunfire. "We're being cut off on all sides!"_

"_Only one option, then," I said. "We have to take them down!"_

"_That's government property!" he argued, barrel-rolling to the side. "We can't just destroy it!"_

"_Do you have any other suggestions?" I retorted. Suddenly, we felt the vibration of bullets embedding themselves into our left wing. I turned around quick enough to see a flaming bird crash into the fighter that was on our tail, causing it to explode._

"_If you two are done with your discussion," a voice came over the radio, "I suggest we take care of the remaining fighters. We can deal with the politics later."_

"_Sounds as a good as a plan to me, Shadow," I said. Uncle Paul reluctantly nodded, somersaulting into the air to evade another fighter that had come up on our tail and shot a missile to destroy it._

"_Well, there goes another million dollar project," he mumbled, successfully out flying another plane and destroying it with some gunfire, as Shadow used another Firebird attack to bring down another._

"_As if the government doesn't have enough money…" I trailed off, looking for the final plane. Unfortunately, I couldn't see it anywhere. "Shadow, can you see that last plane? We've lost visual of it." Before an answer could come, we picked up a lock on the console._

"_A missile is on its way! I can't evade! Bail out!" Uncle Paul shouted, ejecting the seats as the plane burst into flames. The fighter was about to fire on us as we dropped, but Shadow took it out with a well-aimed Firebird._

"_Shadow, a little help!" I shouted, as our parachutes popped open, the force knocking the breath out of me. Shadow dove for us, but I suddenly heard Uncle Paul on the radio._

"_That strange light is right below us. He's not going to make it!" Unfortunately, he was correct. Right as Shadow reached us, all three of us went through the light. The air holding the parachute faded, and we began to fall through the tunnel of light. Even Shadow couldn't resist its pull as we lost all sense of direction._

"_Oof," I said, as all three of us landed on hard pavement. "Okay, that was fun. Now where are we?" I asked sarcastically, dusting myself off and looking around. Suddenly, a noticed a ball of light out of the corner of my eye envelope Shadow. When it was over, Kara and Will had returned to their normal forms._

"_What?" he cried out. "That wasn't supposed to happen!"_

"_Wherever we are," I said, "it must've canceled out your fusion."_

"_And here's another question," Kara piped up. "What about that gateway? How are we going to get back?"_

"_I have a theory," Uncle Paul replied. "I believe it was something in the guidance system. Right before we were attacked, I noticed the instruments going wild. It was only for a moment, but something triggered the event."_

"_Could something like that even generate enough power to open a portal?" He shrugged his shoulders in reply. "It had to be something more," I said. As I was contemplating the situation, Will cried out to us._

"_Um…Noah? What town did you say you were from again?" he asked, catching my attention._

"_Donnsville," I replied. "Why?"_

"_Take a look at this," he said, handing me a newspaper._

"_No…way!" I said, eyes practically bulging out of my sockets. I desperately looked around, but found that it was true. Though I hadn't recognized it earlier, we had been dropped right smack dab in the middle of the town square. I took a deep breath and took in my surroundings. People and cars were non-existent. In fact, there wasn't a single trace of life except ourselves. The air was thicker than normal, and the sky overhead was completely overcast with dark clouds that threatened rain. It was eerily quiet, and it was only further intensified by a dark presence wrapping around the world. "Do you feel that?" I asked, referring to the dark energy._

"_I've felt it ever since we got here," Will said. "Whatever it is, I bet it's the thing that brought us here."_

"_We've got to find the source and put an end to it," I commented._

"_Using what?" Uncle Paul asked. "We don't have any weapons."_

"_If nothing else," I replied, "there's an army surplus store not more than half an hour drive from here. Surely they'd have some weapons."_

"_And a car?" he asked, arms crossed. "If you haven't noticed, there's not a single car in sight. What makes you think that any dealerships would have any?" He had a point._

"_I guess we'll just have to wing it," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "At any rate, we can't stay here. Who knows what can actually thrive in this environment."_

"_Well, lead the way," he said resignedly. "Since you're the one that's from this city, you should know where everything is."_

"_You weren't thinking about leaving us, were you?" came a voice from behind us. Through all our discussing, I didn't notice a group of people sneak up behind us. We all jumped at the voice, ready to fight, but found it was the others._

"_How…?" I began, but was quickly cut off._

"_After we watched you guys fall into the portal, we hightailed it back to the base," Brent said. "It seems that the last guidance system had some sort of chip that sent the data from the last fight back to the base automatically before it was destroyed. It took a couple of hours…"_

"_Wait, did you just say a couple of hours?" Kara piped in. "We couldn't have fallen through the gateway for longer than a couple of minutes, and even then we've only been here about ten minutes."_

"_In theory, it's possible for time to move faster here," I said. "However, it would be another difference from our original world. And even then, we don't really know how long we were falling in that portal. Hours could've seemed like minutes." _

"_Anyways," Brent continued, "it took a couple of hours, but the scientists there were able to concoct a remote that synthesized a gateway. Unfortunately, it was a one-time shot, so we're stuck here unless we figure a way back."_

"_What do you think, Noah?" Keith said, looking around. "Do you really think this is our home?" I paused for a moment, again taking in my surroundings._

"_No," I finally said. "Something about this place just seems so…fake. And that would explain the time discrepancies."_

"_At any rate," Erik cut in, "we need to do something. Just sitting around and talking about this isn't getting anything done, and this place is giving me the creeps."_

"_Erik's right," I agreed. "But we still need to equip ourselves, and the nearest weapons store is at least half an hour away by car."_

"_But, Noah, we aren't going to find a car here," Kara said. "That would make it at least half a day's walk."_

"_Nothing we haven't handled before," Will said, referring to their past adventures._

"_Yeah, but…" she said, but was cut off by Lilly._

"_She's right," she argued. "Even if we did get the weaponry we need, we have no idea where to start looking."_

"_I think I might be able to remedy that problem," Seth said assuredly._

"_Oh?" she asked in a matter-of-fact way._

"_We probably should start with the building that's emanating that large source of dark energy, like that one!" he informed, pointing to small building further down the street. We all stared in awe as a large, dark, purple cloud poured from the building and into the sky._

"_Well, that explains why the sky is so dark," Keith said._

"_And why the air is so thick," Brent added._

"_Uh…guys," Erik piped in. "As much as we should enjoy the lovely scenery, time is wasting."_

"_He's right," Uncle Paul said. "We need to move out now. Which way do we go?"_

"_About five miles down the main street and we'll reach the exit to the highway. Another thirty to forty miles and we should get there. Overall I'd say that it would take a day or two round trip," I replied, pointing to the right direction. "There's a car lot about a block or two down. If we're lucky, there'll be a car we can use. It would also give us a better hope that we'll find usable weapons."_

"_And if we don't?" Kara asked pessimistically. I let out a deep sigh._

"_We have to try," I replied, and without another word I started out, waving the others to follow. It only took about ten minutes to walk the couple of blocks to the auto lot, but when it came into view my fears were confirmed._

"_This place is a trash heap!" Erik exclaimed, understating the obvious. It was true, though. Every car on the lot looked like it had been run over by a monster truck and then thrown into a compactor. As we took a closer look, Brent and Seth went across the street to the gas station._

"_Hey, guys!" they cried out. "There's plenty of food and drinks. We can grab something while we're here!"_

"_How can you guys even think about food at a time like this?" Lilly cried out._

"_No, this works to our advantage," I intervened. "If there's still merchandise in other stores, that means that there should be weapons, too."_

"_It's a long walk," Uncle Paul added. "We'd better grab something for the road." As we crossed over, we watched as Brent and Seth tried to get the door open._

"_It must be locked," Seth said._

"_Watch out," Will said, stepping up with a nearby steel pipe in his hand. With all his might, he utterly destroyed the glass and reached in to unlock the door. He threw the pipe far off to the side, but we didn't notice that it disintegrated as soon as it hit the pavement. As we stepped inside, we noticed a slight buzzing sound coming from above us. I looked up to see what would've been a very loud alarm system going off._

"_The sound is almost muffled," I said aloud, thinking to myself. "As a matter of fact, the shattering of the glass was a lot softer than I thought."_

"_Yeah, I noticed that too," Lance agreed. "And have you noticed that our steps on the pavement seemed quieter too? What do you think it means?"_

"_I'm not sure," I replied._

"_Yuck!" I suddenly heard Keith shout, holding up part of a candy bar. "This stuff is horrible! It's extremely stale!"_

"_The drinks are flat, too," Erik informed, holding a soda. Everybody was quiet, unsure about what to do. I looked to Will, and he looked back, but neither of us said anything._

"_We don't have much choice," Uncle Paul finally said. "Grab a couple bottles of water apiece. Hopefully it'll keep us hydrated."_

"_This world," Kara said absentmindedly, looking out the window and grabbing the attention of the others. "It's deteriorating."_

"_What do you mean?" Will asked uncertainly._

"_I mean, look at it," she said, waving her hand all around her. "Sound, sights, taste, smell, touch…it's all deteriorating into nothingness. Sound is losing its volume, sights are becoming more bland, flavors are going flat, smells are beginning to reek, and touch is disintegrating." She stopped for a moment and put her hand on a nearby cloth. When she removed it, sure enough the part of the cloth that her hand had been over had turned to dust. "Even if we did get the weapons, who's to say that they won't crumble in our hands?" She had a valid point. I took a couple of steps outside and looked around._

"_Leave everything here. We can pick up more on the way," I said firmly._

"_You're still for going?" Lance asked. "After everything that's been proven?"_

"_Look at the sky, and then at the ground below it," I said, pointing at the horizon. We hadn't noticed it earlier, but nature itself had withered. However, beyond the horizon, beyond the giant dark cloud, trees still had their leaves on the branches. Green grass could still be discerned past the dry brown. However, as the cloud moved, it seemed that the very life of everything in its path was being sucked up. "For some reason we aren't being affected by its power," I said finally. "But time is of the essence. If we can get past the cloud, we may be able to get a hold of equipment that can still be of some use to us, including food and drink. I don't know if they'll still hold up after we have them, but we don't have time to think about it anymore. We have to go now!" With a newfound determination and hope, they nodded in agreement and we set off as quickly as we could._

_Fortunately, the cloud was moving slowly and it only took a couple of hours to catch up to the edge of it. Unfortunately, there still was no change in the amount of sunlight past it. Large amounts of normal clouds hovered above the darker one and still threatened torrents of rain. We hit the highway not much longer after we came off the edge, but we were quickly beginning to tire._

"_Noah, hold on," Kara said, panting heavily. "We've been walking at full speed for almost four hours straight. We need to take a short break." I stopped and turned, looking at the dark cloud that was coming up on our rear._

"_I suppose," I said, between breaths. Truth be told, my muscles were beginning to ache as well. "We need to stay ahead of the cloud, though. And we'll have to make at least one out of the way stop to pick up some fresh water and food."_

"_We'll have plenty of time," Seth said. "I've been keeping track of the cloud's speed. We can take about a half an hour break before the cloud is over us again."_

"_Okay," I agreed, "We'll take a twenty minute break. That way, we're still ahead of it. We won't be able to walk quite at full speed if we intend make the trip in one shot. I don't want to have to break camp until after we get our supplies."_

"_Here," Uncle Paul broke in, pulling a couple of bottles of water from a pack around his waist. "I had this before we took off from the airport. The water should still be good. It's not much so we'll have to ration it until we get more."_

"_An emergency kit," Erik said. "That was good thinking."_

_After the twenty minutes was up we started off again, slower than before, but we were making good time and staying ahead of the dark cloud. "There's a gas station just off this exit," I said, pointing to an exit ramp. "We'll split into two groups. Will, Seth, Brent, and I will go to the station and grab the food. We'll meet the rest of you at the end of the entrance ramp in less than an hour."_

"_Why don't we all go?" Kara asked._

"_No," Will said, agreeing with me. "It'll be faster if only a small group of us goes. We won't be too far behind, so we'll be able to keep watch in case something happens."_

"_What could possibly happen?" Lance asked. "We haven't seen a single other soul."_

"_Even so, we won't be far behind," Will said, catching up with the rest of us, who had already gone ahead. We reached the gas station in record time, and as before Will picked up a hard object to break open the locked door, and once again the alarm went off. The only difference was that it really went off. Very loudly._

"_Well, at least we don't have to worry about the police coming anytime soon," I joked, holding my ears as Will boosted Seth, who in turn disconnected the alarm._

"_Let's just get what we came for and go," Brent said in a hurry. "The sooner we get done with this mission, the better."_

"_I know how you're feeling," I replied, stuffing food and drinks into a nearby duffle bag hanging from the wall. "This…dimension, or what ever it is…is giving me the creeps. I never thought quiet could be so eerie."_

"_Try walking through the Tower of Babel sometime," Will added. "That place was quieter than a tomb."_

"_I think we got enough stuff to last us the rest of the journey," Seth said, as each of us held up a full duffle bag. "Let's get back to the others." We nodded in agreement and slung the bags over our shoulders. At the top of the entrance ramp, we saw the others waiting at the bottom and we jogged down the pavement to meet them._

"_Ready?" I asked, briefly catching my breath. They nodded and I turned to see where the cloud was. "We're making good time, but it's still about another seven hours until we get there. Let's concentrate on getting a good pace going to keep our strength up." Fortunately for us, the rest of the trip there was uneventful. The sky grew darker as night approached, and with it the air became increasingly thicker. The city of Charlain, a normally bustling town, was dead silent. No cars were anywhere on the four-lane road. There were no people whatsoever besides us. And the streetlights were devoid of any power, leaving the city in pitch black. Fortunately, Uncle Paul had a flashlight in his emergency kit and he took the lead as I gave him directions._

"_Will, you're up," I said, as we approached the army surplus building and motioned for him to break the door down again. We repeated the process as we had with the gas station with Will opening the door and Seth disarming the alarm._

"_You'd think that'd we have some lights since there's still power to the alarm systems," Lilly observed._

"_No," Seth disagreed. "Something is draining all electricity from everywhere. It wasn't so apparent during the day, but not even emergency lights are coming on now. The real question is why are the alarm systems still working? I think someone or something is capable of redirecting the power to wherever it's needed most. That same thing could be monitoring where we go."_

"_Let's speculate that later," I said, breaking the glass to a display case and grabbing a few more flashlights to pass around. "Grab anything that'll help us break camp for the trip back, then we can concentrate on the weapons." We traded the smaller duffle bags for backpacks and filled them with batteries, night-vision goggles, and any other necessities, but still with the intent of packing light. As we made our way through the decently-sized store, we picked up a couple of tents and a few sleeping bags for sleeping._

"_Not a whole lot of selection to choose from," Erik said, looking at the weapons in the next room._

"_It's no weapons warehouse, but it'll serve our purposes," I replied. Brent, Keith and Uncle Paul went to grab some BB and paintball guns, fully equipping themselves with the necessary ammo. Erik grabbed a couple of sets of nunchucks, Seth took a pair of sais, I seized a couple of katanas, Lance obtained a bo staff and some extremely sharp ninja stars, and Lilly took a compound bow with a quiver full of hunting arrows, and a bowie knife. "You'd better grab some weapons," I said to Will and Kara, who had been waiting for the rest of us. _

"_No thanks," Will said. "I think we'll stick to our transformation."_

"_What makes you so sure that it'll still work?" I asked. "After all, you guys split as soon as you got here."_

"_I…don't know," Will responded. "I don't know what happened."_

"_The transformation is a resonance of our hearts," Kara interrupted. "It will work. It might take some time, but we will get it to work properly when we need it."_

"_It could be the power that Gaia gave me just needs time to be perfected," Will suggested. "Besides, if worse comes to worse, the flute I found at the Tower of Babel doubles as a weapon."_

"_It's against my better judgment, but we've traveled enough already that I trust your intuition," I said to them. "It's getting late. I'd like to make it back a part of the way before we rest. We're going to need us much strength as we can get to face whatever it is that's plaguing this world." As soon as we got outside I added, "Besides, I don't want to spend another night here if I don't have to."_

"_No argument here," Lilly agreed, as did the other._

_We walked, and we walked, and when we got tired of that…we walked some more. A couple of hours had gone by, but we didn't make nearly as much progress as we would have because we were weighted down by the supplies. "Let's sleep here for the night," I said, looking up at the darkened sky. By now we were in the thick of the cloud. When we had reached it an hour earlier, we were afraid that everything we had obtained would crumble before our eyes. Fortunately, something miraculous happened as soon as the cloud passed over us. Our bodies began to glow with a mysterious light energy, and it passed from our bodies to the new equipment, sustaining it from the dark power. No, even more so it strengthened the materials by at least double their normal capacity._

_We broke into small groups for each tent. Brent, Lance, Uncle Paul and myself were in one, Kara and Lilly were in another, and Will, Seth, Keith, and Erik were in the last one. "I don't think we should all sleep at once," Will suggested. "Who knows what could happen if we let down our guard? We should set up watches."_

"_I agree," Uncle Paul said. "Let's start a camp fire, then we can draw straws to decide."_

"_There's no need for that," I said. "Keith and I can take the first watch."_

"_Girls, sorry, but you need your rest," Uncle Paul said. "Will, do you, Lance, and Seth want to take the second shift? Brent, Erik and I can take the third shift. This way, it's broken enough so we all have enough strength for whatever's to come."_

"_Uh…sure, I'll live with that," Will said. "Anybody object?"_

"_I do," Kara said predictably. "I don't think we should be left out of the duties just because we're girls! We can handle ourselves!" Suddenly, Lilly came up from behind and wrapped her hand around her mouth._

"_I think that's enough discussion for one day," Lilly said with a yawn. "I'm too tired to argue about equal rights right now, so I'll go along with the plan."_

_The night was fairly quiet after everyone settled down for the night. Well, quieter than normal anyway. As Keith and I sat around the fire, only the crackle of the sparks could be heard, and the slight ruffle of the tents in the wind. "Um, Noah?" I heard Keith ask. I had been slightly dozing, but I instantly snapped awake at the sound of my name._

"_Yo," I replied._

"_Don't you think it's strange that this is the first time we've felt a breeze since we've been here?" I hadn't noticed it before, but he was right. In fact, the weather itself seemed to have changed almost instantaneously. The sky lit up as lightning flashed overhead first, and then a bolt struck the ground a couple miles away from us._

"_No thunder," I observed, now standing up and unsheathing my katanas. "Stay alert." We waited for another flash of lightning to pierce the surrounding darkness, but none came. Even the wind had died down again._

"_Noah, over there!" Keith exclaimed, pointing to shiny, pairs of red coming from the darkness. They appeared to be eyes and getting ever so closer to the camp. Keith whipped out his flashlight and shone the beam into the group. It appeared to be about a dozen zombie skeletons lumbering towards the camp. Suddenly, one whipped out its arm and a bone came flying towards us. I instinctively blocked it with my katana and it dropped harmlessly to the ground before disappearing. "Should we wake the others?" he asked, pulling out his BB gun and loading it full of ammo._

"_No," I said confidently. "We can take these guys. Cover my back. I doubt your BB's will do much to damage these guys, but it may slow them down." Keith mounted for the first shot as I charged forward, but I was surprised as a small ball of light shot past me and into one of the zombies, causing it to stumble back. I looked back and evidently Keith was just as dumbfounded as I was. The BB had somehow surrounded itself in light energy as soon as it was released and became a deadly weapon against the dark foes. I looked back at my katana and it, too, had become a weapon of light. A feral grin unwittingly made it's way to my face as I charged the group with fearless abandon. A swipe was made by a bony hand, but I agilely dodged and cut the bonewalker in half. Keith, on the other hand, stood firmly next to the campfire and took careful aim, dropping several with light-powered BB's._

_A red skeleton rushed me and I jumped to one side, side-swiping its abdomen. Surprisingly, though, the body disappeared, but the head remained and threw itself at me with surprising speed. I rolled away at the last second only to meet a swipe of a claw to my back. "Gah!" I shouted, as I reflexively spun my sword around and cut the skeleton that had attacked me in half. Before I could react, though, the head of the previous skeleton charged at me again, but was destroyed at the last second by a light arrow. I looked back to the camp to see everybody else awake and standing behind Keith._

"_What, you weren't going to invite us to the party?" Lilly asked, bow drawn and ready for another attack if need be. I took a quick look around and, seeing that no enemies remained, I slowly made my way back to the others, back in pain with every step that I took._

"_Didn't want to wake you from your beauty sleep," I gave a little laugh. She motioned a slap to my back and I immediately went on the defensive._

"_Here, let me take a look at that. I was better at medicine than fighting, anyways," Kara said, stepping between us and motioning to my back. I reluctantly pulled my shirt off as she got some bandages and medication from her uncle. "It's not too bad," she said, applying some medication, causing me to wince. "It's pretty superficial. You're lucky, though; any deeper and you could've been really hurt. Next time, don't let your pride get in your way like other people I know." She gave a slight smirk as she looked towards Will, who returned the smirk._

"_Yes, Dr. Kara," I said sarcastically, and she intentionally pressed on the wound a little harder than necessary._

_OOO_

"_So this is it," Erik said, unimpressed at the old abandoned clothing store. "It's…uh…certainly everything I expected it to be."_

"_This is definitely the place," Brent said, watching as the dark cloud flowed out of the cracks of the door, and any other possible opening for that matter._

"_Talk later, act now," Lilly said, looking over her shoulder for any monsters that could be around the corner. The rest of the trip had been slow, especially since we were attacked by two more groups of various monsters, but we finally made it back to pseudo-Donnsville. I tried the door, but it was locked._

"_Figures," I said, moving to one side. I looked over to Will and he nodded. He was about to kick the door in, when it opened by itself, releasing even more of the dark cloud into the air. We each took a deep breath as one by one we stepped into the inky darkness. Only a few steps in, though, and the floor gave way, dropping us down a large steel slide and into a dimly lit room in a heap. "Everybody okay?" I asked, as we sorted ourselves out from the pile. They nodded in a reply and we took time to look at our surroundings. _

_Except for the lights and a lone door at the opposite side of the room, there was nothing. On the door was a small plaque that read, "Round and round they go. Where's the end, nobody knows. Nwod og neht dna. Pu og neht. Thgir og neht. Tefl og tsrif."_

"_What a stupid rhyme," Lance said in disgust. "And what's with the gibberish? Some kind of alien language?"_

"_Forget about it," Keith said brashly. "I'm sick of being jerked around this world. Let's get this over with." He opened the door and we found ourselves in a similar room, but this time with three other distinct doors, one on each wall. As soon as we all walked through, the door slammed shut of its own accord. When we opened it again, the room we had come from was replaced by a room exactly like the one we were currently in._

"_I guess that answers the question of what the riddle meant," Will said. Before we could close the door again, an invisible force pushed us through and slammed the door behind us. Suddenly, several arrows appeared and shot from the walls. Instinctively, we blocked as many as we could and dodged the rest._

"_Okay, that was way, way, way too close for comfort," I said, taking a deep breath. Looking around I saw that Will had been slightly nicked in the arm and I could feel a warm liquid sliding down my back. Evidently, my wound had opened up some and was bleeding again._

"_We can't rush into this," Uncle Paul said. "The rooms are booby trapped."_

"_No," Seth said. "This is a maze of rooms, probably controlled by some dark magic. Any door we pick we'll have to go through, and the wrong doors will have traps behind them."_

"_So what you're saying is we need to pick the right door to survive," Lance said._

"_That means we only have a twenty-five percent chance of picking the right door," Brent added._

"_Once again, no," Seth replied. "I think that the strange writing at the end of a message was a clue. I wrote it down on my hand before we left that room. Let me see if I can figure it out." They nodded and he sat cross-legged on the floor, looking at the palm of his hand. The rest of us spread out throughout the room, keeping our eyes and ears open for any other surprises that might await us. _

"_How's it coming?" Will asked, after a few minutes had passed. He had been pacing the floor, but had occasionally noticed Seth look up towards the doors and back at his hand several times._

"_I'm not sure," came the reply. "I just noticed that the doors have directions above them, and I'm wondering if there might be a connection between them and the writing." Will looked above one of the doors and found that the word "Left" was written above. The words "Up," "Right," and "Down" were written above the other doors. _

"_So…?" Will trailed off._

"_Give me a minute. I think I almost have it…" Seth said. Suddenly, there was a slight rumble, and Kara and Erik fell over as the wall they had been leaning on pushed back. _

"_We don't have another minute!" Uncle Paul said. "Which door?"_

"_Uh…" Seth said uncertainly, furiously glancing from his hand to the doors._

"_Seth! Please!" Kara cried, as she, Erik and Lance pushed against one of the walls._

"_Uh…l…left! Go left!" he shouted, running to the door that had the word "Left" over it. We followed his lead and leapt through the door as quickly as we could, followed by the slam of it shutting. We stood there anxiously for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for something to happen. "It…it looks like I was right," Seth gave a nervous laugh. "The right door isn't booby-trapped."_

"_So now what?" I asked. His face returned to a serious nature._

"_I was running on a hunch, but since I was correct I think I just might've figured out the puzzle," he said, looking at his hand again. "This time we need to take the door that says 'Right.'" We looked at the other three doors, but none of them had the word._

"_That means…" Lilly trailed off. We turned to find that the door we had come through was the correct one. "But the walls just closed shut in that room." Despite her argument Seth went to open the door. Surprising to us, but not to Seth, the room was back to its original condition._

"_Remember when we started?" he asked, as we followed him through. "The room that we started in disappeared even though we tried the door that we came through. It doesn't have to make sense; all we have to do is follow the directions."_

"_What directions?" Brent asked, and Seth held up the palm of his hand._

"_These. The message is written backwards," he said triumphantly. "Not very ingenious, but effective."_

"_So where to now?" Erik inquired. Seth pointed to the "Up" door, and we followed him through. The door slammed behind us again, but we paid it no heed as we continued to follow Seth through the "Down" door. The room beyond the door was pitch black, but when we hesitated the invisible pushed us through again and the door slammed behind us._

"_It's locked!" Kara exclaimed, jiggling the handle._

"_It's not like we want to go back there anyway," I said, taking my flashlight out of my pocket. The others did likewise and we soon found that there wasn't any other exit. "Or maybe in this case, we might need to," I said, looking at Seth. "You sure you got those directions correct?" Before he could answer, the floor fell from under us again._

"_Thissssss isssss gettttttinnggggg ooooooolllllllldddddddd!" Kara screamed, as we tumbled down the steel slide. We landed in another room, but this one was fully lit, and it was much larger. It took our eyes a couple of seconds to adjust, but they did so just in time for us to evade a couple of fireballs._

"_No…" Will stammered when he saw the source. "No…I…I…defeated you!" There was a low rumble of laughter as our eyes were drawn to the opposite end of the room. Before us stood a giant, indescribable being. It was easily a hundred times larger than any one of us and seemed to be planted to the floor by six, what could be called, roots that were covered in gray armor. Around the base, several wiry tentacles wiggled around with a mind of their own. The being had a red neck, which was also covered in gray armor, and at the bottom was a large blue colored jewel, presumably a sapphire. Within the jewel raged, in essence, a spiritual fire. The face of the monster itself was stone cold and emotionless. No one could tell if its eyes could even see them, but they knew that it had noticed their presence. Behind it, a machine was pumping out dark clouds continuously, which floated through a vent in the high ceiling. "What are you doing here…Dark Gaia?" Will asked, teeth clenched and flute in hand._

"_The Dark Master has seen it fit that I destroy you," came the menacing reply in our heads. "He has revived me and given me more power. Prepare to die!" Its mouth opened and a blinding flash of light shot towards us. Everybody was able to dodge the initial blast, but the explosion that resulted behind us threw us to the ground. Lilly recovered the fastest and rolled to the side, bow up and arrow fired at lightning speed. However, it was too late; the mouth was already closed. "That won't work on me this time!" came the booming voice. "This time I have no weaknesses!" Lilly could feel the monster's focus come directly on her, and she froze._

"_Except you can't keep track of the real danger!" came a shout from the opposite side. The focus shifted and it found Will and Kara standing together hand in hand. "Firebird Transformation!" they cried together. A bright sparkling light enveloped them, but instead of transforming them as before, it split them apart like two magnets of the same polarity._

"_No, it didn't work again!" Kara shouted, pounding the floor with her fist._

"_Ha, ha, ha! Fools! Did you think I wouldn't prepare for this? Your transformation is useless here. Now die!" Two fireballs appeared at the tips of two conductors attached to the sides of Dark Gaia and flung themselves at the two weakened heroes. I stepped in front of Kara with my twin katanas and redirected the fireball meant for her back to Dark Gaia while Erik used his nunchucks to protect Will. As soon as the fireballs hit, a volley of light-powered BB's, paintballs, and ninja stars followed them up. There were a few tense moments as the smoke cleared, but when it finally did the result was less than desirable. There was absolutely no damage whatsoever. "Now I'll show you a special privilege," Dark Gaia said, as if the attack never happened. "I'll show you my transformation!" The monster opened its mouth once again, but instead of having a beam of light attack us, the beam wrapped around Dark Gaia and blinded us momentarily. _

_When the light had subsided, Dark Gaia had completely changed. The overall size hadn't changed much, but that was all. The body was no longer anchored to the floor, but had blue, armored wings that had sharp orange, yellow and purple "feathers". Its body was completely covered in the same blue armor, and a tail hung down as it floated above the ground, having no feet to stand on. It had four claws, all of which crackled with evil energy. In the middle of its abdomen was an opening with sharp spikes, like the mouth of a starfish. Its face was no longer stone cold gray. It also was covered in blue armor with purple lining, and white eyes flared with absolute anger and hatred for the enemies before them. "Now die!" came a voice behind the armor. Two arms whipped out and two rings of blue energy flew towards Uncle Paul and Keith._

"_Watch out!" I cried, trying to intervene, but was cut off as two more energy rings flew past me. I looked back and saw the other two claws extended, crackling with the same nasty energy. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Uncle Paul clear the ring, but Keith was nicked in the leg, encasing it in a giant block of ice. "Keith!" As he struggled to pick himself up, another ring slammed into his body, encasing it up to his head, but not before he fired off a couple of shots with his gun for cover. _

_Unfortunately, one was stopped by a force field surrounding the monster, but the second one passed by the field and hit the machine creating the dark cloud. I looked at Lilly, and she already had the same thought. Avoiding two rings of yellow energy by rolling to one side, she expertly took an arrow from her quiver and twirled it around before aiming it on the bow. Without a second thought she released the arrow, which sped by Dark Gaia, gaining more and more light energy as it went, and struck the machine dead on. As if continuing on the same train of thought, Seth launched one of his sais, nailing the machine just under the arrow. _

_Dark Gaia had anticipated another attacker, though, and Seth took a blue energy ring to the chest, encasing his body up to his head in thick, cold ice. Just as a yellow energy ring was about to finish the job, Erik stepped in and created a shield with his nunchucks. "Man, he's picking us off one by one," he said absentmindedly out loud, as Seth struggled to stay conscious._

"_The…m…m…machine…" Seth stuttered. "T…the…m…m…machine…is…is the…the key."_

"_The key?" he questioned. Looking back to Dark Gaia, he noticed the barrier protecting the monster had begun to weaken. Looking further past, he also noticed that the machine was beginning to spark. 'It needs just one more good shot,' he thought, deflecting two more energy rings. Glancing around, though, he found his options were limited. Both Kara and Will had been frozen solid, so their fusion was definitely out of the question, and Uncle Paul, Lilly and Brent were the only ones left with projectile weapons. _

_Sweat was running down his face as he tried to keep up the shield. 'This is bad,' he thought desperately. 'I'm not going to be able to protect Seth much longer, and the others are too busy protecting the others and staying alive to make a counterattack. Come on, Erik, think! There's got to be a way out of this.' The wheels in his mind turned as he subconsciously caught a ring on the edge of one of his nunchucks, swinging it around slightly before deflecting it into the wall. Suddenly, he realized something, but before he could work out the details another ring rushed towards him. As if on instinct, he shifted his position so the ring would catch on the end of the swinging nunchuck. He slowed the speed of the rotation slightly so he could control it better before flinging back past the monster and striking the machine full force._

_The force of the impact was enough to cause a chain reaction, causing multiple electrical bolts to run rampant throughout the system. The machine gave a final shudder before exploding in a brilliant flash of light and flames. The shield surrounding Dark Gaia dissipated, but otherwise was unaffected. We shielded our eyes from the light and we could slightly feel the heat from the flames. Looking around the room, I saw that Erik, who was slightly fatigued from his attack, was still protecting Seth. Uncle Paul, Lance, and Lilly were protecting Will and Kara, and Brent and I were standing in front of Keith. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the ice was slowly melting from the heat. 'It won't be fast enough, though,' I thought. 'Even if it was, they're all unconscious so it wouldn't matter one little bit.'_

"_Fools!" we heard a voice boom from the billowing smoke, which was beginning to clear. "That only hastened your demise!" Dark Gaia announced._

"_Last time I looked we outnumbered you, and your shield is gone. You'd like to retract that last threat?" I said confidently, as we readied ourselves for another round of assaults. Suddenly, the floor seemed to shift and we all fell to the ground._

"_Heh, heh, heh," the monster chuckled. "The darkness has spread enough that it was holding the structure of this realm together. Without that support…"_

"_This world is collapsing!" Brent shouted._

"_Correct, human, and I can survive anywhere. Plus, I'm the only way out of this world, and you cannot beat me! Who's outnumbered now?" it gloated._

"_That doesn't mean we can't try!" I shouted, charging the monster with swords at the ready. As the others provided cover fire, I dodged past a few rings as a couple of others sliced at my skin. I winced at each new wound, but I continued to advance. I got close enough to slash at the base of the monster, but the gigantic tail whipped up and knocked me against the opposite wall, sending an unimaginable wave of pain through my body. "Dang, there's got to be some sort of weak point on its body!" I said shakily, as Lance and Erik helped me to my feet._

"_Well," Lance speculated. "Will told us before that the original's was its mouth, so maybe its something similar on this version." All of a sudden we saw small traces of energy gathering at the opening in its abdomen._

"_Oh crap! Watch out!" I shouted. Instinctively, Erik and Lance jumped in front of the group and spun their weapons at an incredible speed, creating a giant barrier to protect the group from the impending blast. The blast was worse than they had thought, and the barrier didn't block everything. We braced ourselves as the small traces of energy made their way through and sliced at our skin and clothing. The attack lasted for what seemed like an eternity, and Erik and Lance collapsed in exhaustion when it finally ended._

"_We can't take another hit like that," Uncle Paul said. He was right; battered and bruised, we were running out of options fast. Seth, Keith, Will, and Kara were frozen solid and Lance and Erik were unconscious; our forces were almost depleted._

"_Listen," I said, getting their attention. "We only have one shot at this, so hopefully it works. I'll get its attention, and you need to direct all of your attacks to the hole on its stomach. Lilly. Uncle Paul. Brent. We'll only have a split second so you need to make this count! Understand?" They were going to object to a risky plan, but they realized we didn't have another choice._

"_Incoming!" Lilly shouted, as we avoided four more yellow energy rings._

"_Go!" I ran to the side of the beast, drawing its eyes to me long enough for it to throw another four rings. In the moment it became distracted, Uncle Paul, Brent, and Lilly took aim. They let the last few shots they had fly and let the chips fall where they may. A few missed, but the majority hit their mark dead on. We could tell the monster had been damaged and was considerably weakened, but it still wasn't enough to drop it. _

_Unfortunately, I was so entranced on their attack that I completely had forgotten the rings heading towards me. At the last second my focus returned, and I just narrowly dodged the first two rings. The third sliced the side of my leg, and using the rest of my strength I rolled to the side to avoid the fourth. However, as I rolled, the tip of one of my blades caught the ring. Without even thinking, I mimicked the move Erik had used and launched the ring back at its owner. Miraculously, the ring hit dead on, exploding within the body of the beast. Rays of light began tearing through the dark armor as the beast shuddered violently. "Hit the deck!" I heard Lilly shout. We dropped and covered our heads as the resulting explosion rocked the entire room._

_In the monster's wake, a vortex was created and before we could fight its suction, we were all drawn in. Once again the tunnel of light we dropped through seemed to go on forever, but soon was drowned out by the darkness of unconsciousness. The fight had taken so much that one by one we joined the others in sleep._

_When I awoke, I found myself in a comfortable bed, my wounds fully bandaged. "Good to see you're finally awake," a voice said. Startled, I sat up quickly, but instantly regretted it. The fire of my wounds burned, reminding me of the previous battle. Looking up through the pain, I saw a man in a white coat standing at the door of the hospital room I was in. "I didn't mean to startle you," he said apologetically. "You went through quite a lot. Though I didn't believe it at first, I didn't have any other choice when the others filled me in."_

"_They're awake?" I asked weakly. "What about…"_

"_We're all fine," Will interrupted, coming in the door behind the doctor. "Seth, Kara, Keith, and I defrosted after you destroyed Dark Gaia. Fortunately, we weren't hurt too badly. You're the last one to wake up, Mr. Lazy." I gave a slight smirk as I tried to get out of bed. Will went to help me, and the doctor told me to stay in bed, but I waved them both off._

"_I'm not some old man," I said with a smile. "I've got too much to do to be sitting in bed like an invalid."_

"_Yep, he's back to his normal self," Brent stated, entering the room, and everybody had a good laugh._

"…And that's pretty much how it went. We went back to South Cape and Gaia sent us back home. I actually haven't seen her since. However, once Ganondorf showed up, and I learned how to realm hop with the Master Sword, I met up with Will and the others again and they agreed to help me out," Noel said. Looking at Alice, he found she dropped to sleep on her bed. He looked at the clock on the wall and found that was getting late. '_I guess I did go a little long,' _he mused with a slight smirk. He remembered reaching her room a while ago, but he had lost all sense of time since then. _'Well,'_ he thought, draping a blanket over her and giving her a soft peck on the forehead, _'sleep tight, sweetheart.'_ And with that, he left to get some sleep of his own.

A/N: Good night, this chapter was a major pain in the butt! It took me forever to get the pictures I needed for the description of Dark Gaia 2, and the description for the original Dark Gaia was no picnic, either.

Incidentally, the idea for the deterioration when they first arrived in the Dark World came from the movie "The Langoliers" by Stephen King. Basically, the cast gets thrown into a time warp that sends them a few moments into the past. Everything looks okay, but they are the only people around and everything has lost its kick (i.e. food lost its flavor, sound is muffled, etc.). I changed the idea just a little to fit the story, but it was an interesting idea so I included it here, so I take no credit for the original idea.

Please, nobody get on me about the length. I probably should've split this up into two or three different chapters, but I wanted to get all this flashbacking out of the way (at least for now; I've made it so the two or three others I had will wait until later, and I think you'll understand why). I've got one more trip backwards, and that's how Noel met Zelda. I hope to have that one up in a couple of weeks, but I'm writing that from scratch so we'll see.

This one's taken a lot out of me, but I think I covered everything. If anyone sees any inconsistencies, please tell me and I'll do my best to either explain or change them. Either way…please REVIEW!

Reviewer's Corner:

**KyLewin:** First, this is about where I stop giving him new gadgets to play with. I had a couple of other things, but I took them out because they didn't fit in where I wanted them to. I needed somwhere Noel could go to regroup between attacks and the bases seemed the best choice. Teleportation is used to get there because a space ship would take too long. I also am not giving it to the people of Earth because this is where I start jumping realms. Earth was just a starting point, not the main battlefield.

Secondly, if you notice, firing the lasers take a ton of energy from the base's power supply just to do the amount of damage that it did. Granted, they should've been paying more attention to the fight, but where else was I going to explain the origin of this technology:) Maybe it does make it all see too easy, but as the enemies get stronger, the technology is going to have limited uses in a fight. My major challenge is cutting back on Noel's abilities and evening them out for later. Looking back, I've given him way too many options to choose from. I guess it'll become clearer later, but I'm not very original with my moves.


	16. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Well, hopefully this one is up a lot faster than the last one. The ending of the last chapter seemed kind of rushed, looking back on it, but I can't do anything about it now.

I just noticed two mistakes that I made unintentionally, and I can't explain them away. The first was about the flashback. I forgot that the place where I want to put it doesn't show up till a little later, so you get a normal chapter instead. My second mistake was about Zelda's age. I said she was ten years old, but she'd be closer to twelve. Reason? When Link released the Master Sword, both he and she were both about ten years old. Ganondorf didn't attack Noel's realm more than a month later. Since two years have passed since that event, Zelda would be twelve. As far as time discrepancies are concerned (such as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber of DBZ), assume time moves the same in all realms unless a note otherwise.

I think that's about it. This chapter won't be nearly as long as the last one, but hopefully the quality won't go down (rather, I'd prefer the opposite). Please review.

Chapter 13

A couple of weeks passed, but there was no sign that Ganondorf was going to attack again. Alice and her brothers were home-schooled, so not being at home didn't affect their school work any, and Dr. Smithers had called in to take vacation time. However, everybody was starting to get restless and wanted to return to their normal life. "Noel," Dr. Smithers started, as he and his wife walked up onto the bridge. He had felt them come in, but didn't acknowledge because he already knew what they wanted. "We appreciate everything you've done for us, but I think it's time for us to go. I need to get back to work, and everybody else has responsibilities as well." He didn't respond immediately, but nodded absentmindedly.

"Yeah, you're right," Noel finally conceded, after battling in his head for a few more moments. "I think the danger is pass. But I'm going with you just in case."

"I'm going, too," said a voice.

He turned around to find Zelda, whom he hadn't noticed enter the room. "Princess, I think it would be best if you stayed here and waited until I got back. That way, there's no rush and I can escort you personally back to Impa," he said.

"No, I need to go back through the original portal so I can lock it so nobody else can come through," she protested. "We were unfortunate that Ganondorf opened a portal on the other end of town, but when I seal the one I came through, it should seal that one, too. Besides, there's no point to make two trips when one would be sufficient." He was about to object, but Will interrupted him.

"Um…Noel?" he said, holding up a headset. "The President is on the line."

_'This is just great. I don't need this right now,'_ he thought sarcastically, taking the headset and holding up a finger to the others, who were a little surprised at the thought that Noel talked to the President directly. "Yes, Mr. President, what can I do for you?" he answered politely. There was a brief silence as the others listened to Noel's responses, which were mainly composed of "I understand" and "Uh huh" and "Yes, sir."

"Well?" Will asked, taking the headset when he was finished. Noel let out a deep sigh before answering.

"There was an emergency U.N. meeting during the last couple of weeks…" he started, but Lance cut him off.

"…And since you weren't invited, I take it this was some pretty serious business," he finished. Noel nodded.

"They already knew my side, so obviously me being there wasn't important," he said with slight annoyance. "Anyway, it seems they can't cover up this last attack. The missing people list has grown too much in the last couple of years."

"Missing people list?" Mrs. Smithers questioned, bringing him back to the original subject. "You mean there's been more than one attack? Were we affected by your device?"

"You mean the Neuralizer?" he responded. "I wouldn't doubt it. When the major one goes off, anybody that doesn't have the protective gear is neuralized. There haven't been more than three or four other attacks, the last one being about a year ago. They didn't do a lot of damage, but the death toll does add up. I haven't said anything to you guys because, well frankly, you didn't need to be involved. As far as the U.N. is concerned, though…" He paused for a moment to find the right words. "They can explain the initial attacks away fairly easily, given that we restore the battle site. However, because so many people have died, the missing person lists grows with each attack. Most probably were vaporized, so there's no way of knowing. Others are picked up by the cleanup crews. We restore the damage, but corpses are unaffected. After the cleanup crews are done, they wipe the memory of the locals, and then follow up with a world-wide one just to make sure nothing leaks. I personally don't like this next thought, but we don't have any other choice. What they want to do is dismantle the Neuralizer and release information to the people."

"Well, at least they could be better prepared, and it would give some peace of mind of where their family members are," Dr. Smithers interjected. "I know that's the way we would want it if one of us was involved."

"Point taken," Noel conceded in a grimace. "Which is why I can't totally object to this decision. And maybe it would be better if they had some sort of idea so they could prepare for the worst." He turned to Zelda. "In light of this, if I do take you back, can you seal this realm from Ganondorf? Only you have the power right now until The Hero of Time returns and seals him permanently." She closed her eyes and thought about it for a moment.

"I can try," she said slowly. "My powers aren't developed enough to create an extremely strong seal, but it would take some work to break it."

He stared at her before answering. "Okay," Noel said reluctantly. "I guess if that's the best we can do, then I'll take it." He turned to the Smithers as Alice and her brothers walked in. "Be ready in one hour." Alice's parents nodded and filled their kids in on what was going on. "Princess?" he said when he noticed she wasn't heading for her room.

"Noel, Ganondorf has gotten more powerful than I realized he could since…" she trailed off, her face full of sorrow and regret.

"Since what?" he questioned, gently pulling her out of earshot from the others.

"Nothing," she quickly recovered. "I was just saying that I can use my powers to enhance yours, since they basically came from Hyrule to begin with."

"You can?" he asked in surprise. She simply nodded.

"I would have sooner, but I wasn't at that point when we first met, and opening a portal here would've attracted too much attention," she explained. "Just close your eyes, and I'll do the rest."

He did so as Zelda grabbed onto one of his hands and closed her eyes. She concentrated with all her might, and a yellow aura surrounded her before transferring to Noel's body. He could feel the new power flow through his body, and then settle. "Wow! What a rush!" he whispered in wide-eyed surprise, looking down at his body. There was no visible change, but he could feel it flowing through his veins.

"Your new techniques have taken the place of your old ones."

"What techniques?"

"You won't realize them right now, but they'll come to you in time. Under Din's Fire, you can use Ember and Fire Blast. Under Farore's Wind, you can use Whirlwind. Under Nayru's Love, you can use Shield Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Omega."

"What do all these powers do?"

"Under Din's Fire, Ember allows you to form a fireball in your hand. When thrown at the enemy, it separates into thousands of sparks, or embers. Fire Blast allows you to create a large fire attack using both hands. These will be your second strongest attack powers. Next, under Farore's Wind, Whirlwind literally allows you to blow the opponent away. Lastly, under Nayru's Love, Shield Alpha allows you to form a shield around you that vaporizes the enemy's attack on contact. Shield Beta is like Alpha, but instead of vaporizing, it reflects the attack. Shields Gamma and Omega have the same defense ratings, but instead of covering one person, they can cover an entire group. Remember, though, that a shield is directly linked to your power so it will rapidly drain your strength. All in all, don't rely on it too much. Finally, your strongest attack is called 'Explosion'. This attack isn't under any magic attack, but rather an extension of the Light Beam technique. It allows you to form ten powerful energy balls that can home in and destroy the target. Be careful when you use this, though, because this attack will leave you wide open. You have to be sure that this will finish your opponent. Don't underestimate your opponents, Noel. They've become stronger than you can imagine."

"I understand," he nodded.

An hour quickly passed, and everybody had assembled on the bridge, excited at the proposal of finally going home. "Everybody here and ready?" Noel asked, scanning the group. "Okay. Will, begin teleportation sequence," he said, after receiving a nod from the Dr. Smithers. Will nodded and pushed a button on the control panel and they disappeared as columns of light.

A couple of seconds later, they appeared at the bottom of the hill by the lake behind the Smithers' house. "Home sweet home," Alice said, as she weaved through the trees. Noel walked slowly behind them, suddenly a little uncomfortable about the surroundings. He sensed something. Something evil, but he couldn't pinpoint it. All he knew was that it was nearby. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Zelda had the same troubled look.

"We need to get out of here," Zelda whispered to him. "Something's not right."

"I know," he replied. "But I don't have any way back to the base. Seth is working on a miniature teleporter, but it's still in the prototype stages."

"Still, I'll feel much safer once I get back to Hyrule," she said with a slight tremble in her voice. He nodded in agreement, his eyes still on her as she shook slightly. He couldn't say he blamed her; the power seemed to be growing every second.

"Wait! Don't go in!" Noel exclaimed suddenly, as Alice had reached the door and started to turn the knob, but stopped when she heard Noel's shout.

"What?" Mrs. Smithers asked.

"Listen," he whispered, holding up a finger to silence them.

"What? I don't hear anything," Tom said.

"Exactly. No birds singing. No animals. Nothing."

"What's wrong with that?" Dr. Smithers asked quizzically. "They probably were scared off by our appearing."

Noel said nothing, but went up to Alice. "Let me go in first." Alice reluctantly backed away from the door. He stepped through the doorway, with the others close on his heels, and looked around, finally ending by going out the front door and onto the front lawn. Zelda began chanting a spell to open the portal as Noel surveyed the front of the house again. Everything looked like it was when they had left. _'It's quiet. Too quiet,' _he thought, his hand involuntarily reaching behind him and resting on the handle of his sword. Without warning, there was a bright flash of light as two groups of robots appeared, quickly forming a circle around the group and cutting off all escape routes. Unlike the Borg that had attacked him before, these were completely robotic. They were at least a head taller than Noel, and were totally covered in gray plated armor. Their heads were dome-shaped helmets, with a thin red visor for sight, and a small spike protruding on top. "Crap, it's a trap!" he shouted, desperately looking for an escape route.

"So good of you to drop in," came a deep chuckle, as one group parted to reveal Ganondorf, an evil smile plastered on his olive green skin. "I was about to think that you wouldn't come back. I hope you like my new recruits," he laughed, motioning to the robots that began closing in slowly. "I'm sure you recognize them as Swat-bots from the Sonic the Hedgehog realm."

"He knew," Noel muttered, barely audible enough for the others around him to hear. "He knew, and he was waiting for us to drop our guard." He unsheathed his sword and prepared for a battle. "Stay close to me."

"Noel, I hope you have a plan," Tom said, as he and the others tightened their circle.

"Nope, he's got us in check," he replied gravely.

"So what do we do?" Alice asked, almost hysterical.

"What else can I do…but fight!" he said, pulling himself into a defensive stance.

"Destroy him, but don't harm the specimens!" Ganondorf ordered, as the robots descended upon them.

"What's the matter, Ganon-dork, can't you take me on your own? Or do you have to have mindless drones to do your dirty work?" Noel said, stepping forward a couple of steps and slashing bravely at a couple of 'bots, all the while carefully circling around the group to keep them away from the others. Spare parts were flying left and right, but his efforts had soon failed. They overwhelmed him knocked him to the ground. _ 'I guess that answers that question,'_ he thought, pulling himself up again to defend the group. Fortunately, he had taken out enough to create an opening to the house. "Everybody, get inside!" Noel shouted, providing cover as they went. "I'll handle this."

They turned to run, but it was too late. Ganondorf was already in front of them with a small group of soldiers. "Seize them!" he commanded. The Swat-bots obeyed without question and grasped their arms. "Bring those two to me," Ganondorf said, as he pointed to Zelda and Matt. Again, they complied and his sneer grew bigger.

"Matt!" Mrs. Smithers exclaimed.

"Zelda, no!" Noel shouted, as he tried to run to them, but was held from behind by several of the survivors, causing him to drop the Master Sword.

Alice, too, tried to charge at Ganondorf, but the grip was too strong. "Let me go!" she shouted, urgently trying to reach her brother. Surprisingly, she managed to move forward a couple of inches, at least, until a third held her back.

"We have what we came for," Ganondorf laughed, opening a portal. "Self-destruct and kill them all," he said without a second thought.

_'No! It can't end like this!'_ Noel thought desperately, fear and horror mixing with the sight of the robots beginning to draw power in. Without warning, though, something in Noel's mind snapped, and he could feel raw power flow uninhibited through his veins. A white, fiery aura erupted around his body as his eyes seemed to turn white. "Aaaaaaahhhhh!" he shouted, expanding his aura and blowing the soldiers away. "Whirlwind!" Instead of pointing his palms at the group, he thrust them both to the ground. A brief second later, columns of wind burst forth from the ground beneath the soldiers' feet, breaking the grip they had on his friends and causing them to explode high up in the sky. Ganondorf, too, had a column of air hit him with extreme force, but it didn't seem to affect him. Instead, he resumed the grip on the Zelda and Matt when the robots were blown away, watching the scene emotionlessly. "Now for you!" he shouted, picking up the Master Sword as he went, and seemingly flew at his enemy with incredible speed. Just as he was about to slash down in all his rage, Ganondorf stepped into the portal and disappeared, causing Noel to hit the ground just in front of the front doorstep. "No! This can't be happening!" Noel shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks through tightly clenched eyes. He pounded his fist against the pavement, leaving small cracks in the concrete. Small sobs of grief racked his body.

The others felt the same way Noel did. Mrs. Smithers was crying in the arms of her husband. Tom and Stefan were dumbstruck by what just happened, and were still trying to register the magnitude of the situation. Alice, with tears in her own eyes, walked to Noel and put a comforting hand on his back. His sobs subsided slightly and his breathing started to become more stable. She was going to say something to comfort him, but he said something first.

"Let's go," he said in an emotionless tone, half turning to them. What wasn't shown in his tone was shown perfectly on his face. Grief, pain, and regret were written on his tear-stained face. As Alice looked at him, she couldn't remember if she had ever seen him like this. By this time, several people had stopped along the road and watched the strange events in massive shock, but nobody paid them any heed. Sooner or later they would be filled in by the news media.

"Where are we going?" Dr. Smithers asked, as everybody's attention turned to him.

"Back to the base," Noel replied simply, once again with no emotion.

"But…" Tom started, but was cut off by a sudden, searing glare from Noel.

"No 'buts,'" he snapped sharply. "I made one mistake; I'm not going to make another."

OOO

"Why would they take Matt and Zelda?" Will asked Noel a couple of hours later in Noel's quarters. "Zelda I could think of a ton of reasons, but Matt? It just doesn't make any sense."

"I…I don't know," he replied with a heavy sigh. He had been reclusive since he had gotten back, and couldn't help but replay the scene over and over in his head. "All I know is that I should've been ready for it. Zelda felt it, too, and I should've pulled us out of there, but…"

"Stop!" Will commanded, looking sternly at Noel. "Now's not the time for a pity party. Now you know I'm bluntly honest with you, and I'm not going to start lying now. You always do something like this when something big happens. What's done is done. Now the question is what are we going to do about it?" Noel sat silently on the edge of his bed, bent over and hands running through his short hair.

_'He's right,'_ he thought, taking a deep breath. _'I do tend to beat myself up for my mistakes, but this is different. I failed her…'_ He was torn from his thoughts as the door flew open and Kara ran up to the two.

"I hate to break up this little meeting, but we've got a really big problem," she said, taking in deep breaths. "And I think it has to do with what Ganondorf is planning." With that, both their heads snapped up to look at her. "Here, read," she said, pulling out a sheet of paper.

"Kara, what is this?" Noel asked, looking it over.

"A readout of Ganondorf's recent activity. I think it explains why he's been dormant for so long. The computer didn't pick it up until now because he had somehow masked his energy. When I manually looked through the readouts, I noticed a small anomaly and looked into it personally," she replied. "The residents of this realm are powerful magic users, some even rivaling Ganondorf. Researching the realm further, I found that a particularly powerful mage, incidentally the first known ruler, created a spell book. This spell book held everything he had learned in his long life, including forbidden spells that the general populace had forgotten."

"I hope there's a point to all this," Noel said impatiently.

"I'm getting there," she huffed. "The book was lost through the ages, but was recently found. The nobles, afraid of the power and the potential problems it could cause, tried to destroy it, but they couldn't. Obviously, the previous owner had placed a spell to protect the book, so instead they hid in a temple full of magical traps. Traps that were made directly from the book. They figured that this way, no one except the one that wrote the book would be able to get to it."

"And despite every precaution, someone eventually got it," Will finished.

"Specifically, Ganondorf," she replied simply. "I don't know how he managed to find out about it, or even how he got there without our knowing, but he has got a dangerous weapon in his hands." She took a deep breath before continuing. "There's a legend in that realm that the mage came to power by creating a fusion of two realms. Since he had good intentions, the result ended with peace. However, fearing the opposite was true after he wrote in his book, he had the book hidden away. Ironically, the spell he used to protect what he wanted to pass down throughout the ages eventually protected those he deemed to be the most harmful."

"Do I want to know what's involved in this?" Noel asked warily. She pursed her lips, knowing the answer wasn't pleasant.

"Two 'volunteers,'" she replied, "whether willing or not. The best chance of the spell working is when you have one with special abilities, like Zelda, with one that would be categorized as normal, like Matt. In short, Ganondorf is attempting to reproduce the spell the leader mage had, but the consequences are going to be far, far worse. If he succeeds, Hyrule and Earth will merge and utter chaos will break loose. There will be no way of returning them, or their catalysts, to their original state." There was silence in the room for several moments before Will decided to speak up.

"Noel, what should we do?" he asked. Noel had sat on the bed, looking straight ahead the whole time from the shock. A few more moments passed before he finally spoke, though his eyes didn't move at all.

"Kara, how long have you known about this?" he asked. She was caught off guard by the question.

"What?" she repeated.

"How long have you known about this realm?"

"The computer just got done with the scan about a month ago. You remember we started it about five months before that. It took me the last two weeks just to scan through the results, and I took the last couple of hours just to piece everything together. What are you getting at?" she asked defensively.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he said apologetically, looking directly at her. "I just wanted to how long Ganondorf has been planning this thing. It's obvious he knew what he was after, and his staying for two weeks waiting for us to drop our guard proves it."

"I'd say he's been planning it since the last attack," she said, calming down again. "It's just been a matter of getting to that realm and getting the necessary supplies."

"So what are we waiting for?" Will interjected. "Let's go Hyrule and get them back! Surely he wouldn't go anywhere else."

"Will's right," Kara agreed. "He has to do this in Hyrule; it's where Zelda's from."

"No," Noel said simply, surprising both of them. "First off, the Sages of Hyrule have been keeping a fairly close eye on his activities. Granted, they can't see what goes on behind closed doors, but they do keep me informed when he makes an obvious move, provided I don't know already." He stood, but never broke eye contact. "Evidently he's become sneakier in moving around, because they haven't given me any word on his activities since that last attack. However, what I do know is that he's taken over Hyrule Castle and made it his own, and he has a very powerful barrier around it. Unless he lets the barrier down, there's no way to get to him, so charging head first without a plan would be pointless and stupid," he said bluntly. "Secondly, Kara, you said that he had to be in Hyrule. Why are you so sure?"

"It's one of the requirements of the spell," she said. "There are three total. First, the place must be the home realm of the special individual. In this case, Hyrule. Secondly, the incantation must be made on the night of the full moon. Probably because magic is at it's strongest in the full moonlight. Finally, this is an all or nothing spell. Meaning…"

"Meaning if we break it before it's completed, he won't be able to use it again," Noel finished.

"Correct," she said. "There's a twenty-four hour delay period between the incantation and the fusion. After all, it does take time to combine two life forces, and two realms for that matter, into one. During that time, though, we'll begin to see changes in both realms' structures."

"The lunar cycle in Hyrule is similar to ours," Will said. "It's in about two days. I'm assuming it will take a majority of Ganondorf's power to pull this off, meaning the shield should drop. You planning to strike then?"

"Do we have a choice?" he asked rhetorically. "Ganondorf is sure to know I'm coming; he'll have his defenses pumped to the max to make up for the lack of a shield. I'll talk it over with Saria and see what they think."

"What about the Smithers?" Kara asked. "Should we tell them about all this?" Noel fell silent, his fist up covering his mouth and eyes unfocused as he deeply contemplated the situation.

"No," he finally said. "They're going through enough right now, and there's nothing they can do. There's no point in adding needless worry. They know I'm not going to take this lying down, so let's leave it at that." He paused for a moment, glancing quickly at the clock on the wall. "Speaking of lying down, it's getting late. How about we all get a quick dose of shut-eye, and I'll give the low down on the plan tomorrow. Needless to say, I think we may have to call up a few old acquaintances. In the meantime, though, this meeting is dismissed."

Kara and Will both nodded in weary agreement and quietly walked out the door, totally missing a shadow that was hiding around the corner. After it was sure they were gone, it too disappeared back to one of the many rooms on the floor, contemplating the events to come.

A/N: A couple of things I'd like to address here. First, as soon as I put the Neuralizer in Chapter 12, I realized it was a mistake. It just didn't fit into the story, but I couldn't just go back and get rid of it, so I did it in this chapter. Second, I promise this is the last time Noel gets techniques without even working for it. Granted, protecting parallel universes is work in and of itself, but I'd rather he train for his moves. I can't guarantee that he won't get stronger without training; there are some things about the Guardian race that will be explained as time goes on. If anybody sees contradictions as I go, please tell me so I can fill the hole.

Okay, the action here is a pile of crap, if I may say so. Actually, I take that back…the whole thing is a pile of crap. I can't write dialogue to save my life, and adding personality to my characters that people can relate to is like pulling teeth. I agree with KyLewin when he says in his story that it's hard to write a fight scene when it's so one-sided. I mean, we're looking at one, possibly two if you count Zelda's magic, against at least three dozen Swat-bots, not to mention he's protecting six people who can't fight at all against the robots (well, not exactly, but that's for later). So basically he's doing more running around the group and staying one step ahead, rather than going all out. I promise the next one will be better. If I made any mistakes, feel free to tell me about them. I'd like to know if I'm getting any better. Either way, please READ AND REVIEW!

Reviewer's Corner:

**KyLewin:** Okay, how do I get myself out of this mess now? As to your first concern, I guess the possibility of the space/time continuum crashing down did kind of slip my mind. I mean, look at _Sonic the Hedgehog_. They only recently addressed that happening twenty-five years in the future of where they are now. I just figured if anything like that was going to happen, it would be a long time in the future. Plus, we're not busting holes in the continuum on a consistent basis. There's a big time lag between some chapters, so I'm going to say that the continuum heals itself a little between jumps. This is all kind of off the top of my head, but I do have ways to counteract that possibility. As for why she wasn't concerned, I don't have an answer.

Second, as far as the Airforce thing was concerned, all I'm going to say is…oops! Seriously, though, I only have two ways to explain it. First, it's a different realm and the rules are just a tad bit different from Earth's. It's a weak excuse, but how else was I going to get them up there? It's a heck of a lot better than having them fly the plane themselves (which I had them doing in the original, and in the first Memories of the Past. Technically, I wasn't supposed to get away with that, either, but again I had to get them there somehow.). Second, I just did it to keep the story moving. As far as the others getting the device to open a portal, once again two explanations jump to mind. First, they were there so they saw what happened. Second, they "borrowed" it, if you get my drift. Don't ask me how they got past the security, let's just say they were resourceful enough to do so.

As for the perspective, I was trying to keep it in the detective format that I originally started with, but I'm used to doing third person. I wasn't so much aiming at a story-telling perspective. Also, if you noticed, I did the whole scene with Will and the others at the beginning. Noah/Noel was not there, but the story progressed as normal, so in a sense I did a slight combination of the two perspectives. Don't worry, though, I don't plan on using any type of first person again, so that shouldn't be an issue.


	17. Memories of the Past Part 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot

A/N: Well, here's another lovely blast to the past. This time, I'm focusing on how Zelda met Noel. This is another one I'm writing pretty much from scratch, so if it took a long time to finally post, that's what I'm blaming it on (That, and I've been playing games and reading old fanfics over and over again).

Now this is the time where I point out any mistakes that I noticed after I posted. This isn't a mistake, though, but rather an observation. After I posted the last chapter, I had to ask myself why Ganondorf, if he only needed Zelda and a normal person to complete the fusion, would capture Matt instead of some nameless person out of the six billion plus population of the planet. I came up with two "arguments" to try and get past that. First, it was just something I did to keep the plot moving and I've restricted the events of the story to that one area of that realm. Second, and the one I'd like to believe, Ganondorf was going for a major blow to Noel's ego; something along the lines of disheartening our hero, and making him less effective. Anyway, this whole thing was probably totally random and uncalled for, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Now, on with the show…

Memories of the Past (part 4)

That night, sleep eluded Noel as nightmares haunted and distorted his dreams. "No!" he shouted, waking from a particularly disturbing scene and sitting up quickly. Sweat drops had formed on his brow and his clothes were partially drenched in it, and he took deep breaths. He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed as he recalled what had happened. The final words still echoed in his mind.

"You failed me," the voice had said. He had recognized it as Princess Zelda herself. The words repeated themselves over and over again, each time more maddening than the last. He wanted to believe that it could be remedied, but there were still the traces of doubt in his mind. The fact that he might lose someone close to him was creating enough guilt in and of itself. If Ganondorf succeeded…

'_No, I can't think that way,' _he thought, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, head in his hands. _'If he succeeds here, I don't think I'll have the will power to go on. I can't let that happen! Too many people are depending on me.'_ He tilted his head to the side slightly to take a look at the clock on the wall. _'Two fifteen in the morning,'_ he groaned with a deep sigh. He was afraid to go back to sleep because of the nightmares, but he also knew he wouldn't be any good to anybody if he couldn't even keep his eyes open. A slight rap at his door startled him slightly, but he quickly regained his composure as he said, "Come in." The door slid open and a teenage girl walked in.

"Hey there," she said softly. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," he said, getting up from his bed, but beckoning Alice to sit down. "Give me a minute to change my shirt," he said, motioning to his sweat-drenched T-shirt. He quickly grabbed another T-shirt from his closet and stepped into the adjoining bathroom. Fifteen seconds later he emerged and tossed the old shirt into a laundry hamper. "Can't sleep?" he asked, sitting down beside her and turning on the lamp next to the bed. She shook her head, and he could tell from her eyes that she had been crying, and it looked like tears were forming again. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as she put her arms around his waist and placed her head on his shoulder. He rocked her gently as she sobbed slightly into his shoulder. After another moment or two, she pulled away and rubbed his shirt with her hand where her head had been.

"Looks like you might have to change your shirt again," she smiled slightly, brushing the tears from her eyes and his shirt at the same time. He smirked at the humor. He knew she was hurting as much as he and the rest of her family was, but the fact that she still had her upbeat personality was encouraging.

"Nah, I'm not worried about it," he replied, looking at it with a small smirk and wiping it off a little more. "So what's up?"

"I guess it's kind of random given it's…" She glanced at the clock. "…Almost two thirty in the morning, but I was wondering…well…how you met Zelda in the first place." He looked away for a moment before repositioning himself against the wall. "I mean…if you don't want to talk about it, I understand," she added quickly. "I know this is hard for all of us, but you seem really close to her. I was just…"

"She's like a little sister to me," he replied, almost absentmindedly. "We met shortly, I'd say maybe two months, after I got the Master Sword, and I was training with it. I wanted to find Saria again, but her home had totally disappeared, so I figured I was on my own. Anyway…"

"_Yah!" a cried echoed throughout the woods. Deep in the middle was a young boy, no older than thirteen, swinging his sword in an overhead smash against a log, cutting it in half. On one side a pile of logs sat, also awaiting a similar fate. On the other, hundred of split logs were lying messily in a pile. _

_Without even missing a beat, he set up another log. 'Let's try something different,' he thought, stepping back a couple of steps. "Master Sword! Light Beam, now!" he shouted, raising his sword into the air. Without taking a step forward, Noel sliced the mystical sword through the air and a crescent wave of light energy flew forward and neatly segmented the log vertically in half. Immediately, he swung the sword upwards and the energy changed course into the atmosphere, where it dissipated._

_He held the pose for a moment longer before finally collapsing onto one knee and leaning against the sword. "Wow, that takes a lot out you!" he said to himself, breathing heavily. "It's going to take some work before I'm ready to use something like that on a regular basis." He slowly let himself drop onto the soft green grass that carpeted the forest and closed his eyes. _

_What he didn't notice was that the Master Sword had begun to glow blue, and there was bright momentary flash of light. "Hey! I don't remember signing up for a photo shoot!" he shouted, rubbing his eyes. Even though they were shut at the time, it was still really bright. _

_He rose to his feet and looked around, and everything seemed normal, but the atmosphere had…changed. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something was different. Becoming slightly unnerved, he picked up the Master Sword and placed it in the sheath on his back as he walked back the way he had originally come. His walk soon turned into a jog, and then a full blown sprint. 'This isn't right,' he thought. 'I should've reached the edge of the forest by now!' He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, but he was becoming desperate and scared. 'Okay, calm down, Noel,' he chided himself, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. 'Getting upset is only going to make things worse. After all, you've been in worse predicaments than getting lost in the woods.' _

_Suddenly, those two words hit him as strange. "Lost…Woods? Why does that seem so familiar?" he said to himself. He walked a little more, but it seemed that the terrain around him never changed at all. "May as well test the theory…" he said, pulling out his sword and gently carving an arrow on one of the trees. After he was finished, he continued walking until the select tree was out of sight, but when he turned he was greeted with a horrifying sight. The arrow he had placed was directly in front of him! "Well, that clenches it," he said, his voice filled with angst, but mostly fatigue. _

_He sat down onto the ground and leaned up against a large rock. He hadn't realized how much energy he had spent up until now, and sleep threatened to claim him as his eyes became heavier. He was almost gone, but a few musical notes wafting through the air caught his attention. His eyes snapped open as he strained his ears to pick up more of the tune. 'This song…' he thought, getting up and attempting to follow the tune. 'It's beautiful…' It was hard at first to get his bearings, but it seemed the song would get stronger if he closed his eyes enough to depend on his ears to guide him. At this point his eyes were only good for making sure he didn't plant his face into a tree. (no pun intended)_

_Soon he came upon a giant, hallow tree trunk that protruded from the side of a hill. He tried to find a way around the hill, but the trees surrounding it were too thick, and the hill was too steep to climb. He looked into the trunk, and it was pitch black inside. Still, he couldn't deny that the wonderful music was coming from it. Taking a deep breath, he steeled his resolve and stepped in with all the courage he could muster._

_At first the inky darkness enveloped him, but soon gave way to a new part of the forest. Well, at least, he assumed he was still in the forest. Unlike the former, where trees constantly surrounded him, it looked like this part was carved in the middle of a giant hill. Looking up, he could see the white, billowy clouds overhead, as well as the trees that stood tall on top of both sides of the "hill." 'Small mountain is more like it,' he mused, stepping into the small field. There were two patches of tall grass next to an iron gate that connected two rock walls protruding from the hillside. "Now what?" he shouted in frustration, pulling at the bars at first, and then striking them with his sword, causing a loud clanging noise to echo throughout the valley._

_Without warning, a loud howl rang out all around him and two wolf-like creatures erupted from the ground. "What in the world?" Noel exclaimed, bringing his sword up to block the razor sharp claw of one of the creatures. Out of the corner of his eye he could see another claw coming, and he rolled out of the way enough to be able to keep an eye on both. Their eyes glowed an eerie yellow as they crept closer, and their long, sharp fangs dripped with saliva at the thought of another tasty piece of prey. Their gray fur was very thick, giving the illusion that their bodies were twice the normal size of a wolf. Their legs, however, were very long and thin with very sharp claws protruding from their unusually large paws. _

"_I do not have the patience to deal with this right now!" Noel shouted, exasperated. "Din's Fire!" he exclaimed, expertly flipping his sword back into its sheath and striking the ground with an open palm. A dome of fire rose up around him before exploding outward into flaming fireballs. Looking up through the flames, he saw the fur of the wolves catch on fire before they let out one final howl and sink back into the ground, causing the iron bars of the gate also to drop into the ground. _

"_Well, that was easy enough," Noel said smugly, walking through the entry. He hadn't gotten more than a couple of steps in, though, before something resembling a giant nut slammed into the right side of his head, causing him to hit the ground hard. Holding back words that would unsuitable for children, and clutching the side of his head, he quickly pulled himself to his feet to find where the volley had come from. _

_Surprisingly, he found a living shrub, for lack of a better term, staring at him with the same eerie orangish-yellow eyes. Its foliage was festively colored with reds, oranges, and yellows. But what really made it stand out was its snout, which he guessed acted like a cannon. As if reading his mind, the shrub decided to give Noel another demonstration. He was ready for it, though, and side-stepped the first nut, gracefully unsheathing his sword in the process. "So you want to play a little baseball, huh?" he said with a smirk, ignoring the small trickle of blood running down his face. "Then let's play ball." As he ran towards the creature, he batted another nut back at it, causing it to erupt from the small hole from where it had planted itself. Although it had stopped firing at Noel, he was having a harder time catching it with it jumping erratically all over the place. Eventually, though, the gap between the two decreased enough for him to bring the blade down in an overhead smash, cutting the creature in half. Before it could even lose any blood, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke._

"_Okay," Noel breathed, sheathing his sword yet again and putting his hand up to the small scratch. He winced slightly, and went to a nearby pond to see his reflection to assess the damage. Astonishingly, the water was crystal clear and pure, and he decided to use it to wash the wound a little, which wasn't too bad to begin with. 'All right, time for a different approach,' he thought, after he had finished. "Farore's Wind," he said, and a soft, green aura enveloped him as he started to float above the ground. He rose up and stood on the narrow walls that made up what seemed to be a maze. "There's another narrow path over there," he said to himself, looking towards the opposite end. "I suppose that's as good a place as any to start looking for an exit." He activated the spell again and floated towards it, all the while keeping on the lookout for more dangers. 'Strange,' he thought. 'I can't fly over the forest like I originally intended. It's like there's some sort of magic barrier stopping my ascent.'_

_He hadn't more than set down at the top of the small, narrow staircase when two more nuts flew at him, causing him to dive towards the ground. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" he said, bringing out the Master Sword again. 'I really should think about investing in a shield,' he thought, wasting no time in repeating the process he had with his previous opponent. It was a little more difficult this time since he had two to watch out for, but one by one the shrubs were cut down and the injuries he had to show for it were minimal. He wasted no time brushing himself off and headed towards the larger staircase at the end of the path._

_As he was nearing the end, he began to hear several murmurs of voices, some louder than others. "I don't understand! Why don't we counterattack now?" one voice asked. "We have the manpower. People will lose their morale if we wait too long." Noel silently crept up the last few stairs to see a large group of people standing in a large field. Some were dressed in armor, and he could only guess they were soldiers. Looking around, he noticed woman sitting on a stump overlooking the discussion. Her hair was short and silver, pulled back to a very small ponytail with a few bangs reaching her silver eyebrows. Her eyes were a light brown and were expressionless as she listened to the arguments being held. Her overall physique was muscular, but not overly so; Noel could tell she had been in many battles of her own. She wore a light blue tunic with the symbol of an eye etched on it. Underneath, she wore a matching t-shirt and navy blue shorts that went down to her knees and comfortable brown leather boots. Around her waist was a tan leather belt, with a small dagger hanging at her side. Her legs were crossed and her hand was holding her chin as though she was in deep contemplation. Next to the stump she was sitting on was a dead tree with one lone branch that hung over an elevated platform that led into a stone building sitting on a high ledge. _

"_Fool!" argued a deeper voice. "If we attack now, we'll be putting her Highness in danger. Who will protect her when we fall? And we will fall! Mightier men than us have died at the hands of that…monster!"_

"_Don't forget that he…wait, who's there?" a third voice cried out, and Noel froze as the group turned to stare at him. His instincts kicked in again, and he turned to run, but a barrier formed at the bottom of the steps. He turned to see the large group of soldiers, mostly armed with swords and spears, gather at the top of the stairs, and he realized he was trapped. 'Well, guess there's no other choice but to fight,' he thought uneasily, slowly reaching for his sword and taking a defensive stance._

_As the first two soldiers charged, Noel swung his sword out, ducking under a spear thrust and blocking a sword strike. Before the first soldier could recover enough to swing the spear around, Noel sent a kick into his back, sending him face first into the barrier. He then slid to the side and sent a kick to the second soldier's back, causing him to land on top of the first. Noel barely had a chance to breath before another pair attempted to attack. He jumped over the jab of the spear, landing on the shaft and pinning it the ground, and kneed the first soldier in the face before nimbly sidestepping the next spear jab. Using the Master Sword, he sliced the spear in two and brought the hilt into the second soldier's gut, causing him to also collapse on the former. _

_He had just finished the action as an arrow whizzed by his face, nicking him in the process and planting itself into the rock wall. Looking up at the top of the stairs, he saw two archers preparing another volley of shots. "Light Beam! Crescent Attack!" he shouted, gathering the energy into the blade and releasing it just as the archers released their arrows. The energy sliced through the arrows like butter, effectively knocking them off course. The archers dove to the ground as the curved wave of energy flew over their heads and into the sky. Before they could pick themselves up, though, Noel was already launching himself up the remaining stairs. They rolled to the sides, each pulling an arrow from his quiver, but just as they released Noel bent over backwards, and the soldiers themselves barely had enough time to avoid the shots. "Light Beam!" they heard him shout, as he implanted the Master Sword into the ground. Suddenly, a column of light shot up from the ground and surrounded him. _

_When it dispersed, he had vanished. Confused, they slowly stepped up to the spot where he had been before looking at the older lady. With the same stoic face she had on before, she only pointed up with her finger. Following her direction, they saw Noel come down with his sword in attack position. They tried to fire an arrow, but it was too late. Noel brought his sword down with one hand on one bow, cutting it in half, and used his free hand to move the arrow to the side before it was fired. After kicking the soldier with the intact bow in the gut, causing him to double over, he dropped the Master Sword briefly to grab the armor of the second one, pulling him forward and pushing him into the former. Once he was content that the battle was over, he turned to the rest of the group. "Next!" he replied with an arrogant smirk, casually picking up the Master Sword again. _

_The crowd was stunned. Standing before them was a boy that had taken out six of their finest warriors in less than a couple of minutes. A lone person's applause broke the silence and the crowd parted so Noel could see the older woman returning his smirk. "Impressive, young one," she said, rising to her feet. He shifted his stance ever so slightly for any surprises. "You have great potential, and riding the column of light into the air was very clever."_

"_Thanks," he responded with a frown at her confidence and not dropping his guard for a moment. "I learned long ago that that attack wouldn't hurt me." He eyed her warily, trying to find the smallest hint that she was truly an enemy. As far as he was concerned, this whole thing was a misunderstanding. "So what do we do now?" he asked, the slight smirk returning to his face. "Do we just stare at each other, or do we tango? I think it's fairly obvious your guards are no match for me."_

"_You are too overconfident for a Guardian of the Realms. I will be happy to beat that out of you!" His eyes flew wide open, whether from the title or the speed of her attack, he wasn't certain. All he knew was it was pure luck and instinct that brought his blade up in time to match her now-drawn knife. She struck at him with several punches and kicks as they stood in place with locked blades. Most he was able to counter, but a few still got past his defenses, and he was suffering greatly with each blow. Finally, he created an opening by batting away her fist and plowing in with a head-butt to her sternum. He used the brief moment to pull back and catch his breath, rather than try and press the advantage. He was bruised in several places on his legs and arms, bleeding from several near-miss scratches, and was sure a rib or two was cracked. Every breath he took was like fire._

'_Who is this woman? How could she hurt me this much?' he thought. Fear etched his face as he watched her seemingly disappear._

"_You're strong," came a whisper into his ear, causing his blood to freeze. "But you lack focus. That's a costly mistake." Catching himself, he wildly swung his sword in a horizontal swipe, but the woman was no longer there. He felt a sharp pain in the right side of his head, and the next thing he knew he was skidding across the ground. He coughed up some blood as he weakly tried to pull himself to his feet, groping for the Master Sword that had fallen next to him. He brought his gaze up to her only to find her standing a few feet away, the same stoic stare plastered on her face. "It's time to end this," she said simply, holding an open palm by her side facing him. In it, a black energy ball began to form. "Dark Ball!"_

'_Crap,' he thought, shaking at the sight. 'I don't have enough energy to create a Light Beam! I can't block or dodge it! In other words…I'm toast!' Just as she was rearing back to throw it, another voice chimed in._

"_Stop!" it commanded. Noel looked to the side to see two children, both girls, watching from the elevated pathway. One of them he recognized. She was a litter shorter than him, younger than him to be sure, and she had short, green hair that had a matching hairband in it. She had beautiful azure eyes, and her ears were like that of an elf. As he thought about it, though, both his attacker and the other girl had pointed ears. She wore a long-sleeved emerald green sweater underneath a matching sleeveless t-shirt along with modest green shorts. Even the belt around her waist and the boots she was wearing were the same green color._

"_S…Sa…Saria!" he whispered, half in shock and half in relief._

"_Impa, that's enough," the other girl said, as a yellow aura surrounded them and they floated to the ground. She was about Saria's height and age, but had golden blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. Around her neck was a golden necklace with a ruby planted in the center of it. Like Saria, she also had azure blue eyes that shone a gentle kindness. Her stance was relaxed as she wore a pearl white tunic with three triangles etched on it. Underneath, she wore a purple t-shirt and modest white shorts with a tan belt around her waist. Finishing her outfit were brown comfortable boots, much like the older woman was wearing. Noel's eyes slowly turned back to the woman, and saw her relinquish her attack. "You've tested him enough."_

"_A test?" he shouted in surprise, instantly wishing he hadn't as every wound on his body protested to the sudden movement. "This…was all a test?" Saria slowly walked over to support him._

"_Princess Zelda wanted to see how you would fare," she replied, stretching out a hand to him. A green aura surrounded her before flowing into him, causing his wounds to heal and his energy to be refreshed._

"_With more training, you could be a formidable warrior," the woman named Impa interjected. He didn't say anything in response, but stood there dumbfounded._

"_Princess…Zelda? Impa?" he whispered, slowly looking at each of them before turning to his childhood friend. "Saria, what's going on? Where am I?" She breathed a heavy sigh._

"_Noel, there's so much to tell you. Where do I even begin?" she said._

"_Well, telling me where I am would be good for starters," he said, slightly impatient. He placed the Master Sword back into its sheath and crossed his arms, waiting for an answer._

"_I can answer that," the other girl said, briefly surprising him. "You're in the Kingdom of Hyrule. Or more specifically, right now in the Sacred Forest Meadow, in the middle of the Lost Woods, and in front of the Forest Temple. My name is Princess Zelda of the Royal Family. This is Impa, my handmaid, and the Sage of Shadow. And you already know Saria, a.k.a. the Sage of Forest." Again, he stood there, processing the information._

"_Saria…?" he questioned._

"_I didn't tell you that last part because, well, it's…complicated," she said, staring at the ground sadly._

"_How?" he asked cautiously._

"_Because she didn't know until after she left you," Zelda interposed._

"_Okay, hold on a second," he said, putting up his hands. "I think we need to start at the beginning, because I'm totally lost. Are you trying to tell me that I've been warped across space and time into a world that comes out of a video game? And that one of my best friends is a native of that world?"_

"_Did Ganondorf come from that same video game you mentioned?" she asked simply, causing his arguments to fall silent. "Did you not once wonder about Saria's ears? Or why you always met in the forest to play?"_

"_Princess, if I may," Saria said, turning to Noel. "Noel, please believe me when I say I never meant to hide any of this from you. I would have told you from the moment you uncovered the Master Sword, no, from before Ganondorf would've even attacked, but I was bound here. Zelda thought it would be best for you to not know until now. I'm…truly sorry." There was a long period of uncomfortable silence before Noel spoke up._

"_So are you going to fill me in on what's going on? Was I summoned here be her, or was this just some freak accident by the Master Sword?"_

"_I used my powers to create the portal, but it was the Master Sword that responded. There was no way to get you to willingly walk through a gateway, so the combination of the two powers pulled you in," Zelda explained._

"_When we first met, Noel," Saria said, "I was just a normal girl. Well, normal as one could be with pointed ears." Her smile slightly returned as he chuckled. "My presence was split between your world and Hyrule. I don't really know how to explain it. All I know was that Zelda and Impa helped me become one. I guess you could say they took the alternate dimension version, your version, and fused us into one. That was back when we were children. Since then, I have become the Sage of Forest. I still retain the memories we share, but my origins were always Kokiri."_

"_I'm not even going to try and wrap my head around that one," he said. "But I think I get the picture. It at least explains why I never saw you after we were five or six years old. But why now? How did I see you when Ganondorf attacked?"_

"_I sent her," Zelda said. "We saw Ganondorf's attack coming as soon as the Hero of Time pulled the Master Sword out of the Pedestal of Time."_

"_The Master Sword?" Noel questioned, pulling his sword out. "But I have the Master Sword."_

"_You have a different version," Zelda replied. "You have the Master Sword of Realms. The Hero of Time has the Master Sword of Time. As I was saying, Ganondorf knows the Hylian prophecies. He knows the Hero of Time'll eventually defeat him. But if he can get a foothold into another dimension, he can escape there. If he succeeds, the final blow will never be dealt. We'll never be able to seal him away."_

"_Why my realm?" Noel asked quietly. "Why do my friends, my family, my life have to go through this?"_

"_Honestly, I don't know," came her reply. "You know nothing happens by accident. The point is, though, if he's conquered any realm by time's end, we'll have lost. You've been chosen, Noel. You've been chosen to protect the realms from him as the Guardian of the Realms. Not only from him, though, but from those he would call on to disrupt the normal flow of the alternate dimensions." He stood there silently, mulling over what this meant._

"_It's such a big task," he said hopelessly. "I'm just one kid. How do you expect me to win?"_

"_Noel," Impa said in the first time since the discussion had begun, "as the Sages of Hyrule, Saria and I can keep tabs on him. Every time you defeat him, he must come back here to recharge his power until he can conquer another realm. Your job is only to make sure he can't hold onto another realm. When the time comes, your main task will make sure he doesn't get the Key to the Realms."_

"_Key to the Realms?" he asked._

"_A mystical item that allows the user to jump the space/time continuum with no boundaries. He'll be unstoppable if he gets his hands on that," Saria explained. "Fortunately, it won't surface until right before his time is up. If you can defeat him at that one point, it'll be all over and the weight will fall onto the Hero of Time's shoulders. Noel, in a nutshell your job is just to maintain order of the different realms. Sure, it sounds like a big job, but there are a lot more people out there to help you than you think. Myself and the other Sages will be on the lookout here, and Zelda has agreed to lend whatever financial help and manpower you need." He looked over at Zelda, who gave him a nod in agreement. "Noel, please, this not only effects Hyrule, but everything in the parallel universes. You're our only hope now! Will you help us?" He paused once again as he took in the information._

"_How can I say no to an old friend?" he said with a smirk. "Just try and stop me!"_

"_Your power will grow as you stay here," Zelda explained. "Of course, that has a limit, but you'll gain power from the realms you travel to. That shouldn't replace your training, but it will help you along the way." Noel nodded._

"I stayed in Hyrule for another couple of months after that, learning the full potential of the Master Sword," Noel said to Alice. "It turns out the stuff Saria taught me only scratched the surface. Zelda would also train me occasionally. During that time, we became closer."

"What about what I saw this afternoon? Where did you get those abilities? Did she teach them to you too?" Alice asked.

"No," he replied. "It turned out Zelda had been watching me for some time. Well, Impa was anyway for the first few years of my life. Once Zelda was old enough to grasp her powers, then she joined in. She is, after all, three years younger than me. The whole timeline thing is very confusing." He shook his head and took a deep breath. "Let me see if I can do this without making it anymore confusing than it already is. The Saria I met in this realm was my age, so if she was still here she would be fifteen, got it?" She nodded. "However, the Saria of the Kokiri of Hyrule is three years younger, so she would be the same age as Zelda, which is twelve. Still with me?" She nodded again. "The fusion took place when I was about five, let's say six just to be safe, so that would make Hyrule Saria…"

"Three years old," she finished. "How does that work?"

"All I can figure is she kept the youth of her younger counterpart and the knowledge of her older one. It's not uncommon to have two people be different ages when they're from different realms," he explained. "Anyway, Zelda's been watching me for sometime, including my detective adventures."

"She's the one that gave your weapons the light power!" she exclaimed with sudden realization. "But that would also mean…"

"Ganondorf's also been watching. Somehow, all the clues in the prophecies point to me being the protector. He's sent all the obstacles to try and clear the way before he tried to conquer this realm," Noel finished. "And it works out in the timeline because where I would've been eight to ten years old, she would be about five to eight years. By that time, she had enough of a grasp to help out where need be. And where she couldn't, Guardians like Gaia and Sages like Impa took up the slack."

"I think I get it," she said contemplatively. "Anyway, about your powers…"

"Like I was saying," he continued, "I had been in Hyrule for a couple of months, so I learned everything I pretty much could. Before I left, though, Zelda told me of a realm where I could learn more in a day than I could in a lifetime. Even though she's young, she knows her way around the parallel universes. Anyway, she gave me the co-ordinates for the Library of Knowledge.

"The Library of Knowledge?" she asked.

"It's kind of a side realm with knowledge from every realm in existence," he explained. "The whole planet is just one big library, complete with resources and training facilities to put what you learn to the test. It's absolutely a sight to behold! And the planet itself constantly expands to contain all the new information coming in."

"Doesn't it have the danger of exploding with all the stress?" she questioned.

"You'd think so, but it's just like a living organism. It just keeps growing and growing, and I don't think it has a limit. The universe itself will expand to compensate. The point is, though, to read everything there is you'd have to spend several lifetimes devoted to reading, and then some. I just scratched the surface."

"So…" she said, hoping to eventually pry the information out of him sometime in this lifetime. "What did you learn?"

"Well, you already know that this base came from the Hyrule realm, but most of the training technology came from the Library of Knowledge. As far as techniques, I'm working on the mastering the basics of energy manipulation."

"Energy manipulation? What's that?"

"A type of martial arts discipline. Some people would call it your 'ki'. Anyway, it's not known in our realm. It's an idea, but nobody knows how to access it, I should say."

"And you're saying that you've learned how to use it," she said.

"I'm learning," he corrected. "It's still pretty hard and takes a lot of time to learn. I've had other things going on the last couple of years, so I haven't been putting one hundred percent of my time into it, but I'm getting there." He paused for a moment. "It's getting to the point where I'm going to have to depend on it rather than normal fighting. Ganondorf is switching more to that style of fighting. Impa used it a little to boost her speed in our battle." He stopped to recollect the events leading to his decision. "Well, that's pretty much it," Noel said, finishing up. He looked at for some sort of confirmation that she was satisfied, and was puzzled that she was nervous about something. "I'm going to take it that this wasn't the only thing you came to talk to me about tonight," he said. "Now what's really on your mind?"

She took a deep breath. She knew what she had to say was not going to go over well. "Noel, I…I want to go with you," she said with a slight tremble. "I want to fight beside you when you go to Hyrule." There was a slight pause and she looked out of the corner of her eye to see if he had heard her. And then the dam broke.

"Absolutely not!" he shouted, rising from the bed. "No, it's out of the…I mean…what would I tell…" He took a deep breath and collected himself. "First off, your parents would kill me before Ganondorf would even get the chance! Matt's life is already on the line, and there's no way I'm going to put their only daughter in that position as well…'

"Noel, that's just the point!" she said, getting up to meet him face to face. "My brother is out there in danger! And I can't just stand by and watch my boyfriend go into battle to save him while I just sit here and do nothing!" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes again, but his face only softened a little.

"Alice, listen to me," he said, placing both hands on her shoulders. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want to think about what would happen if I did lose you. You are the last thread of sanity I have in this…debacle," he said, placing a lot of emphasize on the last word.

"Noel, please," she almost begged. "I can fight! And what I don't know, you can teach me!"

"I told you no," he said, more firmly this time, and stepping back from her a little. "It's far too dangerous. And even if I did agree to this, two days is not adequate time to train you."

"That's a bunch of baloney, and you know it!" she argued. "I heard you talking to Will about bring in some old acquaintances. I know the severity of the situation. You need all the help you can get, and you know it! Do you want me to tell my parents that you're keeping this information from them?"

"I don't see how that will help your case," he said stubbornly, but he could already see where this was going.

"It may do nothing for me, but they'll lose a lot of trust in you," she argued.

"So you're going to make this worse for me just because you're not getting your way? And what about us? Do you think your parents would want us to be together after this?" he asked incredulously. She didn't say anything, but kept her stubborn look. Truthfully, she didn't want to do anything that would put their relationship on the line, but she was bound and determined to this. He took a deep sigh. "One, you shouldn't have even been listening in on that conversation in the first place. Two, yes, I'm bringing in some old acquaintances, but they already know the basic gist of who I'm fighting against. I've…" And he winced at the next statement, knowing full well it would not go over well with the way the conversation had been going, "been training them secretly for a while now." He looked to see her raise an eyebrow at him.

"What other secrets are you keeping from us?" she demanded.

"What difference does it make?" he replied angrily. "Up until now, this was my battle alone, and I didn't want you and your family wrapped up in it. I've done what I've done for added insurance, and in this case I'm glad I did. You're right; I'm going to need all the help I can get, but I'm not going to put you in danger under any circumstances!"

"The point is, I'm your girlfriend!" she yelled at him a little harsher than she had originally wanted to. "We're not supposed to keep secrets from each other. First you tell us that there have been three or four other attacks. Then you won't tell us that Matt's life is going to be used virtually as a sacrifice to usher in a new world. And now you're telling me you've been preparing a team for something like this, and you expect me to not get angry? Noel, come on!"

"And then what?" he asked, sitting on the bed and looking up at her. "If I had told you that I was training a few other people, you would've started to worry about how serious this thing really was. Alice, this isn't a video game! I can't push the reset button if I screw up! This is a real war! Ganondorf is real! And if you die, I can't bring you back! Do you realize how frightening that is to me?" His hardened face had turned to one of desperation, and there was a moment of silence.

"And what about me?" she asked softly. "How am I suppose to feel knowing my boyfriend is on the front lines staking his life for the peace of billions? So what if you're assembling a team? I may not be as powerful as you, but I know that you would always be there to protect me, and even then I know how to defend myself. And after everything that's happened, do you honestly expect me to just stand by and watch from the sidelines? Because if you do, then you don't really know me at all." She turned to walk away, but when she reached the door she stopped to look at him again. "I just want you to think about it, that's all. I love you, Noel, and you know I'd never do anything to hurt you. In saying that, I won't tell my parents what I know, but I do suggest that you do before they find out on their own." She looked at him a final moment as he was staring at the floor before she left. She assumed that he had heard her, but only tomorrow would tell.

A/N: I'm trying to get this out sooner than the last one, but I'm feeling pretty confident with this one. It seemed to just roll off my fingertips as I typed, which is surprising considering I pretty much did it from scratch (especially the argument the end. It's scary how easily I was able to write that and how linear it felt. Maybe nobody else will see it, but it felt like so many arguments I've been in).

I've tried to describe everything as clearly as I can. If it doesn't make sense, it's because I've run it through my brain a million times and I left something out in the equation. Thinking it through is most of the time a lot easier than putting it into words. If there are any questions, or if I said something different in an earlier chapter, review and tell me and I'll see if I can explain or change it.

I wanted to describe the Library of Knowledge a little more, but I found it to be pretty much unnecessary. Anyway, now you're going to see a little bit more DBZ style action. After all, I did say this would be a crossover over many ideas and realms. Hopefully I can do the fighting scenes justice. This story runs through several realms, but the story itself doesn't necessarily need to be set. If anybody has a favorite realm they'd like to see me use, and I know enough about it and I'm not too far into the story by the time I get the review, send it to me and I'll try to put it in. I'll try to keep to the characters personalities and the actual plot, so don't worry about me messing everything up too badly. Anyway, expect to see some characters (or maybe villains bwhahahahahah…) in the future.

I haven't played OoT in a long time, so my description of the Lost Woods and the Forest Meadow might be a little fuzzy (actually, I based the Lost Woods more on the original LoZ).

If anybody has any questions or comments, I'd appreciate seeing them in a review. Flames are welcome, but please keep it to a minimum; I prefer constructive criticism, whether positive or negative. Point is: READ AND REVIEW!

**Reviewer's Corner:**

No reviewers for last chapter, I'm afraid. Boo-hoo, I'm so depressed…


	18. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Well, it only took me two weeks to get the last one up, and I'm hoping it doesn't take too long to get this one up. Personally, I was pretty satisfied with last chapter, and I hope this one will be the same if not better.

I don't know if anybody noticed this, but I never said what the sixth deck of the ship was. Needless to say, I'm getting to that now.

It's kind of scary how this story is progressing. More ideas keep popping into my mind, and it keeps moving away from what I had originally written. It's not too major plot wise, but…aw, heck, I'll probably mention them as I go, but you'll find out sooner or later. There should be some action in this one, along with some…unhappy…moments. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 14

"Get up!" a brusque voice commanded, as the owner shook a brunette girl as she slept. Granted, the shaking wasn't violent, but she couldn't ignore it, either.

"What?" she groggily asked, annoyed at the interruption to her sleep and looked at the clock. "It's five o'clock in the morning…"

"Stop complaining and get ready," it commanded again, not softening at all to her objections. "You wanted to train, so now you're going to stick with it." She finally turned to who was talking to her, and immediately sat up in her bed.

"N…Noel? What…but…I…" she stammered, trying to piece all the information together. Suddenly, it hit her. "You're allowing me to fight with you?" she asked in disbelief. He nodded, but the stern face never left him. She had never seen him like this before.

"I talked to your father last night after you left," he said, turning for the door. "I told him everything, and while he wasn't as angry as you were about being left out, he's not thrilled that you want to be trained to fight. However, he's letting me because he knows when you get an idea in your head about something like this, you'll do it despite the consequences. You're too stubborn for your own good." He stopped, looked out of the corner of his eye at her, and smirked. "He blames me for that, but I think it's the other way around. Regardless, though, be up at the bridge in one hour. I've already called the guys and they'll be ready as well." Without another word, he left her to get ready. While she was relieved that he wasn't totally irate with her, she couldn't ignore the gleam in his eye. He wasn't happy about this at all, and she couldn't ever remember him speaking to her so harshly. Without another thought about it, though, she quickly got ready and headed to the bridge.

She hadn't taken one step through the door when a flash of light briefly blinded her. When it had receded, three boys about her age were standing in front of Noel. "Welcome back, guys," Noel addressed them. "Sorry it couldn't be on better circumstances."

"Don't worry about it," one of the boys said. He was about Noel's height, with dark brown hair that was cut similar to Noel's. Unlike Noel's flat-top, though, he kept it spiked up. Blue jeans and a black t-shirt covered his muscular build, and added to the fierce strength in his brown eyes. "It's what we've been training for."

"Though I could've used a couple more hours a sleep," a second one joked, taking a mock yawn and stretching. He was about half a head taller than Noel and had sandy red hair. Like the former, he was also fairly muscular. This was partly due to the training Noel had put him through, but he had weight trained on his own before that. He was dressed in comfortable gray sweat-pants, preparing for the training no doubt, and a blue-green t-shirt that was coincidentally the same color of his eyes.

"Oh, please," the third one said sarcastically. He was only an inch taller than the second, but was very heavy-set. However, because of Noel's training, this did nothing to detract from his speed. If nothing else, it added even more to his incredible strength. His dark brown hair was cut mid-length, parted on the right side, and combed over to the left. Like the first, he wore blue-jeans and a dark t-shirt, which brought out the brown in his eyes. "You were probably up already talking to your girlfriend." Noel couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Oh, come on, Brett," he said. "Cut David a little slack; he just started dating. The initial shine…" He was about to continue his joke, but he saw their eyes look behind him. "She's behind me, isn't she?" They gave a nod in unison. He turned to find her gazing menacingly at him.

"Would you like to finish that little comment?" she asked dangerously, but with just enough of a smirk for him to tell she was joking. At least, he hoped.

"Um…I was going to say 'the initial shine will never fade?'" It was more of a question than a statement as he shrank a little bit in her glare.

"Uh-huh, sure," she said dismissively, still staring at him.

"Case in point…" the Brett whispered to the others.

"What was that?" she asked hazardously, turning her glare to the others, who also shrank in fear.

"Nothing," came the quick reply from all three of them.

"Alice, you remember Brad Washings, Brett Mills, and David Mynes, right?" Noel asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Brad and Brett, of course," she said, almost as if she was insulted. "We all hang out together at church every once in a while. David, though…"

"I came into Noel's class a couple of years ago. If you were never at the school during classes, I don't imagine you'd ever see me," he replied.

"No, I remember seeing you at church for an activity about a year ago. Noel said you three were going hunting afterwards," she answered. "It looks like I'm going to have to get a hold of your girlfriend, though, and tell her how you can be," she added with a smirk. "Now what was her name again?"

"I'm not telling," he said quickly. "And, Noel, if you tell her, Ganondorf will seem tame to what I'll do to you!" he joked, but quickly realized what he had said. He looked at Noel, and his face had hardened considerably. So much so, that Alice almost shrank this time.

"Ganondorf," he muttered angrily. "Come on, we have work to do." Without another word, he motioned for them to follow him to the training bridge.

"What do we do now?" Matt asked, as he and Zelda sat in the cold cell.

"I don't know," Zelda replied. "Who knows what Ganondorf's plan is?"

"Well I for one am not going to sit around here and do nothing," he said, walking over to the metal door. He ran his hand along the frame.

"What are you going to do?" He didn't say anything, but pulled himself up to the window and saw two Swat-bots standing guard.

"It's just a normal door. I think if we work together we can break it down," he said, whispering in her ear.

"How do you expect us to do that?" she almost shrieked in surprise, but his hand quickly clamped over her mouth. "Are you nuts?" she whispered. "They'll kill us!"

"No," he protested. "If they wanted to do that, they would have by now. Noel was training my older brother in secret the last few weeks, and when I found out I forced him to show me a few things or else I'd tell our parents. Tom and I would've helped in the battle, but we were out numbered and caught by surprise. We didn't have a chance to react."

"Okay, so what's your plan?" she asked uncertainly.

"We have the element of surprise this time," he said. "If you can blow the door of its hinges, I can take care of the guards."

"I can't," she quickly protested. "It's covered in a magic seal. It'll just absorb my blasts."

"I have enough energy for a couple of good energy blasts, but we'll be on our own from there," he said contemplatively. "Will you still be able to take out the guards?"

"I should," she said. "It was effective during the first attack."

"Stand by the door and give me the signal when they're not looking," he instructed, holding a palm out. She nodded and peeked through the window before jumping back again and giving another nod. Energy began to form into his hand as a blast ripped into the door, effectively pulling it from its hinges. Fortunately for the two children, the blast hadn't been enough to incinerate the door, but it was sent flying into the two guards, turning them into two junk heaps.

"You okay?" she asked, rushing over to help him to stand.

"Yeah…I'm fine," he said, taking a deep breath. "It just takes a lot out of me, that's all." Just as he was gaining his composure, an alarm sounded loudly throughout the complex. "Junk! I didn't expect that to happen. We have to hurry before the whole place is on top of us!" He grabbed her hand as they ran. In the back of his mind, Matt was thankful that Noel's training had increased his speed and strength, even if it was only a small boost. He took out any lone guards that showed up with a faster-than-the-eye attack, and Zelda hid them from larger groups with her magic.

Their luck ran out, though, when faced with two doors. "Which one is the exit?" she asked. The alarms were still going off full blast, and they could feel the guards beginning to close in on them.

"Just pick one!" he shouted, choosing the door on the left. Unfortunately, they were greeted by a sneering Ganondorf and a dozen guards. "Nope, don't like that one!" he shouted, slamming it into their faces and quickly opening the right-hand door. Once again, though, the findings were not in their favor as they stood face to face with a couple dozen more robots and monsters alike. As they turned to run the left side door was blown open and Ganondorf stepped into their path with an evil smirk.

"Your little escapade ends here," he sneered. Summoning up all his courage and energy, Matt launched his last energy attack, but the evil wizard deflected it easily.

"Well, it seems you finally spent yourself," Ganondorf mused with a laugh, as Matt began to slip into unconsciousness. In his final moments, he wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish, but maybe if he could injure him Zelda would have a chance to escape. Darkness surrounded him, though, as consciousness finally left him.

"Take the boy back to a cell with energy absorbers," Ganondorf commanded. "And this time, see to it that he doesn't escape or else I'll destroy you all!" As they moved to pick him up, though, a flash of light tore through a couple, while another one slammed into Ganondorf's back, causing him to step forward a little. Looking up, he saw her floating above the group. Her hands were outstretched and she was breathing heavily. It seemed in the moment of confusion of Matt's attack, she had repositioned herself to mount an attack of her own.

"Get away from him or else…" she demanded.

"Or else what?" he asked smiling. Her face turned to fear as floated towards her. Desperately, she fired another magic bolt, but Ganondorf merely blocked it again. "My dear, you are becoming more of a bother than I need to deal with right now." With those words, a pink crystal encased her. "Seal her away, as well!" he commanded. "The full moon is less than two days away, and I can't afford to lose either of them." Fear etched even deeper upon Zelda's face as they were carried away. She knew what he was planning.

'_Noel, please hurry!'_

Not a single word passed between any of them as Noel led them to the training deck. The guys had been there several times in the last year or so, but this was Alice's first time to see it in use. The door to the elevator whooshed open and they found themselves in a long corridor. Except for two doors on each side and a door at the end, it was completely barren.

"This is the sixth deck," Noel said unceremoniously, mainly to inform Alice where on the ship she was. "I want you guys to take the training room on the far end. Set the gravity to five times normal and practice your signature moves for now. I need to bring Alice up to speed." The others nodded and proceeded down the hall.

"What's that door?" she asked, pointing to the end of the hall.

"It's a medical center for any emergencies during training. A good supply of energy canisters is in there. Come on," he said. He opened the door on his right and a bare room met them. The room itself was dome-shaped, but there was nothing in it at all.

"So now what?" she asked.

"First we've got to bring out your energy. Go ahead and sit down," he said, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor. She obeyed and waited for his next command. "Since you've had martial arts training, I'm hoping this won't take long." He paused for a moment and smirked. "Plus, I've never been that great of a teacher when it comes to this." He cupped his hands in front of him as though he was holding a ball and concentrated. For a moment nothing happened, but soon a small orb of light began to shine between his hands. It shone for a moment before fading again. "Ki comes from within, so you must learn to pull it out. The process is complex, but to put it simply, just relax and look within. The more you relax, the easier it is to find and pull out." She nodded and mimicked his actions. Minutes passed, but nothing happened. She began to shake and sweat as she desperately tried to pull the energy she knew was there. She could feel it just within her reach, but it continued to evade her. "Alice, calm down," he softly said. "You're not going to reach it if you don't relax."

"Okay," she whispered, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Her breathing became more rhythmic as she cleared her mind. A vision of a well appeared before her. She looked at it strangely before walking over. It wasn't anything spectacular, really. It was a simple circular stone well, with a single wooden beam attached overhead and a bucket on a rope. She cautiously looked over the edge, and accidentally knocked the bucket down into the darkness. The crank spun wildly as the seemly infinite amount of rope unwound from the beam. She stood back in amazement at the sight, before everything ended with a jerking halt. A second passed. Then another. And then another. She walked over to the crank and put her hand on it, only to have an earthquake knocked her down. Looking up, she saw a shaft of liquid light erupt from the well. The wave was about to overwhelm her, but she opened her eyes in a start. Before even a muscle was moved from her sitting position, she stared into her hands and saw a small glowing orb in the center.

"I'm impressed," a voice said behind her. The orb faded and she quickly turned to find Noel standing against the wall snacking on a roll of crackers. "That's the fastest I've seen anybody bring out their hidden power. Most take about six hours, including myself. You managed to bring it out in about four and a half."

"It was that long?" she asked in surprise. "It didn't feel more than a couple of minutes."

"Once you relaxed, you fell into a deep meditation," he said, finishing the last cracker and tossing the wrapper to the side. "Now that you've found the power, it's time to master bringing it out at will. After that, I'll teach you how to fly with it. Granted, all of this will be very limited until you get used to it, but I plan on taking all of today and tomorrow to train you. Using the energy canisters whenever we get tired, we can keep going for quite some time."

They continued practicing with their energy for the next several hours, only taking breaks long enough to catch their breath, and the energy tanks did their job by keeping their strength up. It was almost midnight before Noel finally decided to practice battle tactics. At this point Alice had been trained enough to roughly be able to attack and fly with her energy. However, she had been silently dreading this moment since that morning. Noel's disposition had been up and down all day, but she could feel extreme anger and seeming hatred emitting from him. _'Surely, he's not mad at me for wanting to save my brother,'_ she thought, taking a fighting stance. _'Well I'll show him!'_

She made the first charge, but her fist only flew through an after image. She didn't have enough time to wonder what happened before a crushing kick slammed into her head, causing her to skip across the floor. She had only bounced a couple of times before another furious blow was aimed at her stomach, sending her flying again, this time with an energy blast right behind her. There was a large explosion as both she and the ball stopped at the same time. When the smoke cleared, Noel could see her battered body sprawled out on the floor, but his visage didn't change at all. He watched impassively as she slowly crawled to her hands and knees, coughing up blood on the stainless-steel floor. There were several serious wounds on her body, and she felt she was on death's door. And this was only after three attacks! "W…W…why…" she asked in a whisper, barely retaining consciousness. "Why…are…you…doing…this?" She looked deep into his eyes, but could see nothing but cold hatred. His next word chilled her blood.

"Die," he said, holding out a hand as energy formed in the center. The ball rushed towards her with incomprehensible speed, and she squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the final blow. She felt the wind as it rushed past her, though, and it crashed into the wall behind her. She looked at him, dumbfounded. He lowered his hand and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, the coldness had disappeared, and the warmth that was her boyfriend had reappeared. "Do you get it now?" he asked sorrowfully, taking an energy canister from his belt. He walked over, knelt down, and helped her drink it. She sat back and a warm feeling washed over her as her wounds healed and disappeared.

"What were you thinking?" she shouted sharply at him. "Are you trying to kill me?" He didn't answer, but his face said it all. "Answer me!" she demanded, tears welling up in her eyes. "Tell me that my own boyfriend wasn't just trying to kill me!" He rose to his feet and turned from her.

"It took me all of last night to get into that mode," he said. "I was trying to get a point across." He looked directly into her eyes with dead seriousness. "Don't you get it? Ganondorf isn't going to hold back just because you're a girl. And definitely not because you're my girlfriend! Fine, you're progressing much faster than I thought, but you'll reach a limit. I wasn't even at half my strength and I beat you easily! Ganondorf is even more powerful. Is this really what you want? To throw your life away just to prove your point?" Tears were forming in his eyes now. He didn't want to do this, but if she didn't understand now, then…

"So, the others, are they throwing their lives away, too?" she asked calmly.

"They've been through enough that I trust them with this. They won't die easily," he said.

"So you're saying I will?" she fought back. "Noel, you're not being fair! I can fight! Give me solid chance."

"The issue's not whether you can fight or not! I know you can fight!" he barked back. "The point is you're my girlfriend! I love you, and I don't want to lose you! That's the point, but why can't you get that?" There was an awkward silence for a few moments, but then she did something totally unexpected…she got up and pulled him into a kiss.

"You're not the only one who's got something to lose," she said softly. He was about to object, but she put a finger up to his lips. "I know you don't want to lose me," she said, looking deep into his eyes. "But I don't want to lose you, either."

"I won't die," he retorted equally as soft.

"You're not immortal," she said. "And you're not invulnerable, either. Whatever happens, I want to be by your side the entire time. Wherever you go, I want to be right there. That's my point. Ever since Ganondorf has arrived, I've felt helpless. I don't want to just stand by and watch as you and the others put your lives on the line for us. Noel, you know if the roles were reversed you would be saying the exact same things. I love you, Noel, and I'm with you all the way." Before he could argue the point any further, she pulled him into another deep kiss, but was quickly interrupted by a voice at the doorway.

"Get a room!" the voice said, and the two quickly whipped around to find Brett, David, Brad…and Tom standing at the doorway.

"Tom! What are you doing here?" she questioned, both of them instantly breaking apart. In the short time that she had trained with Noel, he had taught her how to sense power levels. Granted it was still fairly difficult, but she could feel a good deal of power coming from him. "Noel…" she said dangerously.

"Uh…yeah, that was another thing I neglected to tell you," he said sheepishly.

"We'll discuss this later," she declared, and he winced. He knew that it would be one-sided, especially after what had happened today.

"As much as we would love to let you love birds fight this out," Brad began, "I think it would be best if everybody got some real sleep tonight. We can train some more tomorrow and then go after ding-a-ling the next day. Does that sound good, Noel?" Noel looked nervously from Brad to Alice. If he did let everybody go, she would tear into him for letting her brother fight.

'Oh, well,' he thought, 'I've got it coming to me.' "Yeah, that's fine," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." After they left, Noel braced himself for what was coming. 

"Do my parents know?" she asked. He slowly nodded.

"During the first couple of weeks you guys were here, I decided to teach Tom a few things. At first your parents didn't know, but now everything is out in the open," he said. "I didn't really intend for him to fight, but…things have changed."

"What about Matt? Or Stefan? Have you been training them secretly, too?" she asked, a little bit of acid in her voice.

"Stefan, no. Matt, yes," he said, getting a glare from her. "Matt caught us training. He forced me to train him, even just a little."

"Figures," she muttered. "So you were going to let them fight, but not me?"

"We've been through this," he retorted. "You know why, now let's let it die, okay? I only let Matt join because I didn't need your parents on my case. I wasn't intending for them to fight, only defend themselves if worse came to worse." She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh in frustration.

"I'll let everything go if you answer one question and promise me one thing," she said irritably.

"What?" he asked cautiously.

"Tell me all the things you've been hiding, and promise you'll never keep a secret from me again." He paused slightly.

"Alice…"

"Don't 'Alice' me," she snapped. "If you love me, you'll respect this request."

"I can't tell you everything," he began, and quickly adding the rest before she could interrupt, "but I will tell you what you want to know. There have only been two other instances before now. The first was another realm hop, and the second was another self-defense measure. I simply had to train four girls so they could defend themselves from another attack."

"Why was Ganondorf attacking four girls? Do we know them?" she asked curiously.

"You probably don't, but I do," he responded. "I have a hunch why he was after them, but it seems his focus has returned to me, so I'll leave it at that for now." He stopped and put his hands on her shoulders. "Now I want you to listen to me," he said sternly. "If there is something I'm not telling you, it's not because I don't love you; it's because I'm trying to keep you safe. I promise to tell you what I can, but there will be stuff I can't afford to speak to anybody but the Sages about. Ganondorf's spies are everywhere. One small slip and countless people will suffer." He paused and let her take that in. "It's getting late," he finally said. "I want you to get some sleep tonight so you can be at full strength tomorrow." He was about to walk away, but her voice stopped him.

"Y…you're still…letting me train?" she asked. "After everything I've put you through the last couple of days?"

"You're not the only one who was being a jerk," he replied with a small smirk. No other words needed to be said. The look on both of their faces was enough to know forgiveness had been given for both parties. They knew that if this fight was to be won, everybody had to be on the same page.

A/N: Ick, too much dialogue for my taste. No matter how much I look over and write this stuff, it just seems so cheesy. I hope I'm at least adding some personality to them, and having them react like normal people would. So what did you all think? A couple of things I'd like to mention.

I hope I got the lesson about ki correct. I took it from the DBZ episode where Gohan teaches Videl to fly. It's been awhile since I've seen that episode, so I don't exactly remember how it goes. To be honest, I took the meditation idea from somewhere else, but I don't exactly remember where. All in all, I don't take credit for how Alice brings out her power. From here on I'll probably call it by "energy" because I don't think it's ever mentioned as ki in the anime. I try to stick more to the anime than the manga only because I'm more used to that. Only in rare circumstances will I describe it as ki. As far as signatures moves go, I'm making them as original as possible, but don't be surprised if a DBZ move shows up. I take no credit for them, but they might make an appearance. Also, I'm trying not to make Alice super strong given she only trains for two days. Realistically, not much progress would be made, even if she was going forty-eight hours straight. All in all, she'll just be powerful enough to fight, but will be the weakest of the group.

This chapter was going to be longer, but once I hit that last sentence, it would just seem awkward to move into the next day of training. It was like I rammed into a giant stop sign. Anyway, we're coming to the climax of the second "arc", if you want to call it that. The next chapter will be training and maybe the beginning of the battle. Anyway, READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!


	19. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot

A/N: Howdy ho, everybody, here's another chapter. I can't believe it's taken me about two months to get up, though. I'm back at school now, so everything should speed up a little.

There should be a lot of action this chapter, so this should make you happy. Again, I'm switching more to a DragonBall Z fighting style, but I'll keep some of the Zelda elements and plot line. Thanks in advance to anyone for taking the time to read and review; it means a great deal to me. I'll stop babbling now, and I hope you enjoy this!

Chapter 15

"Where is he?" Brad asked, as everybody except Noel gathered into one of the training rooms.

"What?" Alice asked, as they all had turned to her for an answer. "We went to bed shortly after you guys did. He might still be in bed. He has been having some major nightmares, after all." As soon as she finished, the metal door slid open and a groggy figure stepped into the room.

"Rough night?" Brett asked, as Noel wiped some sleep from his eyes.

"You could say that," Noel replied, making some quick stretches. "Everybody ready?"

"What's on the agenda?" David inquired.

"We're going to split up into three teams of two for some basic sparring to start out with. Every couple of hours we'll switch it up," he instructed. "We're staying in the same room, so on my signal we'll switch. We should have enough room in here to move around and not get in each other's way. Merge together, and then separate with a new partner, understand?" He took a quick look around, and it seemed everybody understood. "Okay, good. Alice is with me. Brad, I want you to take Tom. David, that leaves you and Brett. Don't forget to use your signature techniques, too. We'll want to be able to use those as often as possible in this next fight. Only use a canister if your opponent has fully finished you. The winner, though, must go onto the next round as is." He stopped and put his head in his hand as if in thought. "I…guess that's about…it," he said slowly. "So I guess I'll start it off!" Without warning, his hand whipped out and an invisible force knocked them into the air.

Brad, Brett, and David caught themselves and hovered, each finding their opponent. Tom and Alice, however, hadn't quite mastered flight yet, so they improvised. Tom quickly kicked off the wall and at Brad, who dodged the punch, and delivered a roundhouse kick of his own. Tom wrapped his body around and crossed his arms, taking the kick and knocking him back slightly. As soon as he touched down, he leapt back to put some distance between them.

Brad gracefully touched down, but it was only for a moment. As soon as the toe of his shoe touched the floor he phased out and in again behind Tom. He threw a quick punch, but Tom sidestepped it and caught it between his side and arm. He wrapped his free hand around Brad's wrist, before swinging him around, delivering a quick knee to the gut, and a hammerpunch to his exposed back before jumping back again. Brad slowly pulled himself to his feet, but in a quick movement avoided a kick aimed for his head. Grasping the leg with both hands, he swung around overhead and slammed him into the hard floor. He repeated the process a couple of times, each time injuring his opponent a little more.

Tom, on the other hand, couldn't gain enough stability to stop the attack. As he came down to the floor, though, he attempted to twist his body by kicking off with his hands thereby pulling Brad off his feet. Continuing the momentum, he trapped Brad between his double kick, one leg of which Brad still had a hold of, and the metal wall.

Unfortunately for Brad, something gave way and it wasn't the wall. He coughed up a little blood and figured something internally was damaged. He hadn't expected the attack so the damage was greater than normal. Looking up, he saw Tom had backed off again. He, too, was clearly wounded with several gashes across his face and his hair matted with sweat and blood. He was holding his left arm as blood slowly flowed down it. Though this was only a practice match, both were apparently fighting as if it was a fight to the death. He took a few steps towards Tom, readying a new attack in his head. Suddenly, though, Tom smirked at him. "What's so funny?" Brad questioned cautiously.

"You fell into my trap!" Tom shouted. "Land Mine Burst!" Several explosions erupted around Brad, knocking him to the floor as he tried to cover himself from the blasts.

'_That dirty sneak,'_ he thought. _'He planted energy balls as he retreated. Guess I'll have to resort to some of my own tricks.'_ He felt the air move above him as a knee came crashing down. When the smoke cleared, though, Brad had Tom's knee in both hands, holding it at bay. As Brad pushed the knee aside, Tom attempted a kick with his other leg to Brad's open side. Brad effortlessly moved his arm to block and swiftly brought his own leg up behind, connecting with Tom's head and pitching him forward.

He was about to attempt his own signature move, but decided against it. _'No,'_ he thought. _'His energy his already dwindling as it is. His stamina isn't quite as developed, so it won't be long now.'_ Tom had recovered by now, and Brad dodged another punch. Tom flipped over him and pressed his attack more fiercely than before. _'As long as I stay one step ahead of him, he'll eventually run out of steam.' _Suddenly, an explosion pitched him forward and into Tom's waiting knee. In a split second Tom had removed his knee and swung his other leg around into Brad's back, sending him skidding across the floor.

"Come on Brad," Tom shouted after him. "It's not often you fall into my trap twice in one day." Brad wearily rose to his feet and smirked at him.

"Not bad," Brad commented, cracking his head side to side. "Noel's taught you well, but warm-up's over. Ready for round two?"

OOO

David and Brett had narrowly missed Tom's attack, but once Brad had been pulled away, Brett immediately went on the offensive. David had just dodged a hammer punch from Brett and perfectly executed a flip kick onto his attacker's back, sending Brett plummeting to the cold, steel floor. He hit with a deafening crash, but rolled to the side unharmed as David sent his knee into the floor. He winced slightly as the floor didn't give, and his face turned to surprise as Brett gathered energy for a massive attack. "Giga Smash!" he shouted, as he hurled the gigantic energy ball. David didn't even have enough time to move as the two slammed into the nearby wall, causing an equally devastating explosion.

"Aaaaa!" he shouted, as a wave of indescribable pain washed over his body. Brett touched down and set up into a fighting stance, watching as his opponent slid down the wall.

"Come on," he prodded, "I've hit you with worse than that."

"Oh," David groaned, rising to his feet slowly and a small smirk played on his face, "yeah, it's on now!" A white aura surrounded him as his body blurred and phased out. Brett barely ducked in time to avoid the punch that soared over his head. He countered with an elbow thrust aimed at David's ribs, but David angled his flight downward and rolled off Brett's back and into a fighting stance. Brett continued the momentum, though, spinning off the ground and using his energy to rotate his body to deliver a devastating kick to his opponent's unprotected side. David raised both arms to block at the last second, though, but the desired effect still remained. He winced as he slid back a few feet. He couldn't recover in time as another kick plowed into his back, sending him face first into the hard metal floor.

_'Okay, that hurt,' _he thought, lying there for a moment to figure out his next move. _'How can a guy that big move that fast?'_ He felt a disturbance in the air above him and he quickly rolled out of the way of a punch. He flipped around and kicked off the floor with all fours, headbutting his unsuspecting foe in the side. Brett absorbed the blow and clutched David in a deadly bear hug. As the momentum from David's initial attack carried them towards the opposing wall, Brett turned his body and cargo towards the wall. A few seconds later David was in a world of pain as he became sandwiched between Brett and the unmovable wall.

"So, you give up yet?" Brett taunted, quickly jumping up. So far, Brett had yet to be injured, but David was a bloody and bruised mess. Yet there was something strange…he was actually laughing.

"Okay, warm-up's over," he said with a cunning smirk. He cracked his neck back and forth and stretched out a little. "I think that's enough of a handicap."

"You talk big for someone who got his tail handed to him," Brett shot back, unaffected by the banter. In a blinding motion, though, David shot at him like a bullet. "We've been through this!" he shouted, grasping him in a bear hug. The smirk, however, never left David's face.

"Checkmate," he said simply. Brett didn't understand, until a faint glow came between them, that is. His eyes shot wide open as an energy ball came in between the two just enough to break Brett's hold. The moment David touched the ground, he bounced off and delivered a crushing kick to the side of Brett's head, sending him across the floor this time. "Kiah!" Another energy attack followed, and Brett barely had time to cross his arms to deflect the attack. He skidded to a halt, and looked up to see David still in his attacking stance. He was breathing heavily from the exertion of energy, but relaxed quickly. They smirked at each other for a brief second before going into another round…

OOO

Alice, unlike Tom, took a little more time to regain her composure, relying on a few backflips to put some distance between her and Noel. When she stopped, though, her instincts guided her as she ducked underneath a swift kick from Noel. Unlike yesterday, though, it wasn't impossible to follow and she could tell the insane strength wasn't there. She followed up with a kick upwards, but Noel dodged to the side. He dropped to the ground, but only touched for a second to launch himself back to give them each some space. "Since you're still new to this, we'll go slower," he advised. "Conserve your energy for now, and we'll work on energy attacks later." She nodded slowly, but didn't relax her stance any.

He flew forward, disappearing and reappearing as he moved closer, almost as if he were teleporting. She quickly did a rough estimate and rolled to the side at the last possible second as a kick soared overhead. His movements were fast, and as soon as she stopped she dodged to the side to avoid a punch. She knocked it away with the back of her hand and used her free hand to counterattack with a punch of her own, but he latched onto it with his other available hand. They stared each other down for a few moments during the power struggle, but Alice slyly shifted her foot and positioned it behind his leg. In one swift movement, he lost his balance and she continued the momentum by slamming her elbow into his gut.

Slightly winded by the move, he pulled his knees up between his chest and her before launching her away from him with both feet. He rolled backwards, but as soon as his feet touched the ground he launched himself at her. Surprised, Alice barely had enough time to slide out of the way, and each punch that he threw came closer and closer to connecting as she was having trouble staying a step ahead. Finally she completely ducked out of the way, but grabbed onto his shirt and planted a foot into his stomach, falling backwards to complete the backwards throw. He righted himself before he hit the wall, kicking off it enough to land feet first onto the ground. _'Darn, I almost had him,'_ she thought. _'I have to be faster! I have to show him I can do this!'_ Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the others sparring, but she noticed her brother in particular. Her focused returned just as Noel's fist slammed into her face.

"Come on! Stay focused!" he commanded, as she tried to shake the stars from her eyes. She weakly crawled to her hands and knees and watched as blood seeped from her nose and mouth. She turned to him with an acidic gaze. "Don't look at me like that," he said, arms crossed in defiance. "You wanted this; don't expect any mercy." She bowed her head as she stood, confusing him slightly.

"I know you don't want me fighting," she said. A look of surprise crossed his face as her form went fuzzy. He realized it too late as she appeared in front of him and rammed her elbow into his stomach followed by a fierce kick across his face, sending him skidding across the floor. "But I will show you that I'm able to do this."

'_Good night, where did that come from?'_ he thought, cracking his jaw. He looked over to find she still had the determined glare in her eyes. "Oh boy, this can't be good," he muttered. She lunged for him again with incredible speed, but Noel was expecting it this time. Inwardly he smiled as he watched her try and hit him. Each punch was coming closer; so much so that he powered up a little more just stay a step ahead of her. He blocked another kick while ducking under a punch. He tried to sweep her other leg out from under her, but she anticipated it and took to the air. She wobbled a little bit as she hovered over his head, but she quickly stabilized. "You're getting better at it," he complimented her, winning a small smile from her. He floated upwards until he was level with her. "Looks like we're switching to aerial fighting."

OOO

Twelve more hours passed before Noel finally decided to call it a night. The canisters Kara had mixed for that night were already drained, as were the energy reserves of the team. "Oh man, I didn't think I could be this tired," Brad said, as the team walked out of the training room. Alice and Tom supported each other, and the others weren't in too much better shape.

"Get some rest tonight, guys," Noel said. "We're leaving around nine o' clock."

"That only gives us about six hours of sleep, though!" Tom cried incredulously.

"Ganondorf's already cast the spell," Daniel interjected. "As it is we have less than twenty-four hours to stop it. We barely have enough time for that much sleep." Noel put up a hand to gain their attention.

"Just get some sleep tonight, okay?" he said. "We have enough canisters in the sick bay to restore any lost energy. I'd keep us training until we left, but it's hard on the body even with the healing properties; we need genuine rest tonight."

"It's kind of like old times, isn't it?" Brett said with a slight grin. Noel didn't answer, but nodded his head slightly. Without another word, the team parted for their separate rooms with the realization that the next twenty-four hours would shape the outcome of the war.

A/N: Well, there you have it. This chapter took so long because it was difficult to write. Consequently I kept getting distracted until I forced myself down long enough to choreograph it out. Even then I'm still not content with it, but it's a warm-up for the upcoming fight.

I want to apologize for a couple of minor things from last chapter. First, general typos and mistakes. I tend to notice these after I post just because I hate to proofread beforehand. I usually only proofread to find out what I said before so I can keep current with the chapter I'm on. Lazy, I know. The second thing I definitely should have noticed, but took for granted, was my section breaks. I used my original format, but Fanfiction doesn't use that so they got deleted. I didn't get any comments, so I don't think it was an issue, but my apologies all the same.

I do want to put this little note out. After this arc of the story, there will be a quick summary chapter from start to present. It won't be really long, but it'll map out the timeline and events. Hopefully it'll clear up a lot of things that might still be wondered about (and it's something for me to reference).

I guess that's about it. Please READ AND REVIEW.


	20. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Well, nothing major is coming to mind right now. I appreciate all the reviews I've gotten so far. Hopefully this one will live up to expectations as well. Enjoy.

Chapter 16

"Noel! Noel, wake up!" a voice cried out to him, as he felt a violent shake pull him from a deep sleep. The events of the previous evening had left his energy completely drained. "Noel! I think you need to see this!"

"W…what…is it?" he mumbled, partly rolling over to figure out who was disturbing him. He opened up on eye to find Seth and Will at the side of his bed.

"Something bad is going on," Will said cryptically.

"Tell me something I don't know," Noel replied sarcastically, rolling back over. "The last two days have been 'something bad'. I told the team I'd meet them in a couple of hours. Can't this wait till then?" Suddenly, a swift kick from Seth met Noel straight in the butt.

"Noel! Something down on the surface is changing!" Seth shouted. Between the kick and the statement, Noel shot straight up. Any bearings of sleep he wanted instantly disappeared.

"What did you say?" he questioned.

"I said that something is happening down on the surface, and I don't think it's a good thing," Seth replied darkly. Noel bolted to the desk in his room, and linked up to the main computer via his own. When the screen came up, the color literally drained from his face.

"Oh, crap," he whispered, hand covering his mouth.

"Yeah," Seth interjected. "It's getting worse down there by the minute."

"I didn't think it'd be this far along. He must've started sooner than I realized," Noel said, viewing the destruction that was being caused. Various buildings had toppled and mass panic had erupted. In the place of old buildings, new ones popped up. These weren't buildings of Earth, or even civilizations long since passed. No, these were Hyrulian in nature.

"Noel, the worlds are merging," Will stated the obvious. "The computer calculates that it will be complete in less than fifteen hours." Noel didn't move from his spot, though. His eyes were transfixed on the screen. Will and Seth looked over his shoulder, but they didn't see any despondency from this new development. Quite the opposite, instead.

"This changes things slightly," he finally said, putting his chin in his hand. "Give the others the two hours of sleep. Twelve hours will be cutting this close, but it's still doable. Will, contact Kara and have her gather a half a dozen canisters for us to take with us. Seth, get Lance, Lilly, and Erik, and set up a defensive perimeter. All I can say is we're going to need damage control. Will, set up the portal for the co-ordinates of Kakariko."

"What are you going to do?" Will asked, as Seth started heading out the door.

"I've got someone I need to discuss battle plans with," he said simply. Noel didn't pay attention to Will leave as he mentally contacted Saria. This fight already wasn't looking too promising.

OOO

"Here's the plan," Noel said, as he rolled out a map of Hyrule onto one of the consoles. The team had gathered onto the bridge and was still bleary eyed from the previous night, but managed enough energy to focus. "We'll use a portal to immediately warp to Kakariko Village. From there, we'll use the back route to the castle. The Sages have already informed me that Ganondorf has taken over Hyrule, but he hasn't yet raised it over a pool of lava like he does in the game so we'll be okay. When we get to the castle we will split into two separate groups and will attack the castle at different times. Simply put, the castle is heavily guarded. Brad, you, Brett, Tom, and David will attack first and draw out the main defenses."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme? I mean, we would get massacred," he said in an unsure tone.

"Head on, of course; I'm not asking you guys to be kamikazes," he replied. "But the plan is to draw them away from it, so just get them to follow you into the woods. As you get deeper in there will be markers." He stopped for a moment and traced his figure along a thin line on the map. "At these points the Sages and the Hyrulians that agreed to help out will wipe out some of the back ranks, making the group smaller. However, they're fairly spread out so you'll have to keep moving and use your energy to pick off any of the ones that get too close. When you reach the last marker, which will be a blood red, unleash your most powerful attack and finish them off. This is pretty much the reason why I've had you train hard with your energy attacks; you're going to need every ounce you can muster."

"What about you and Alice?" David asked. "We might need the extra help."

"Alice is going to come with me because I don't think she's able to keep up with you guys yet." He paused for a moment and he knew they were waiting for her to object. "We went over this early this morning, and she, reluctantly I might add, agrees."

"He'd rather baby-sit me, than trust me," she said with a slight irritation in her voice.

"Ahem," Noel cleared his voice to get everybody's attention. "Discussion's closed; we can talk about it after this is all said and done. Anyway, we'll pick off the remaining guards and sneak in. Impa will also be with us. The objective is to get Matt and Zelda out of there."

"So this is it," Brett said. "The battle begins."

"It's not going to get any easier. You guys positive you're ready for this?" Noel looked around at each of them, but the determined gleam in their eyes said it all.

"Let's go for it," Brad finally answered, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Will," Noel said over his shoulder, "open the portal." Will silently nodded as he pushed a few buttons. Two metal poles rose out of the middle of the floor. A few sparks flew before an electrical current shot out of each one until they met it the middle, creating a blue hole. The others looked on in wonderment, but Noel's steely look never wavered. After all, he had seen this several times already. "All right, team, let's do this."

One by one they jumped into the portal, hearts racing with the task at hand. When Alice's turn came up, Noel grabbed onto her hand. "You ready for this?" he asked. She thought he was going to stop her, but he exuded confidence.

"We're going to do this." She paused and squeezed his hand. "Together." Nodding to each other, they jumped in together.

After what seemed like endless falling, they finally landed in a grassy field. "So where's the village?" Brett asked, as they rose to feet and took a look around.

"The co-ordinates on the portal must've been off," Noel replied, looking for a landmark of some kind.

"This place is so beautiful!" Alice exclaimed. Everywhere they looked there were flowers of different sorts and bright colors, the greenest of grass, a cloudless blue sky, and trees that littered the landscape. The sun overhead was bright and warm, but not unbearably so. A slight wind blew, and the grass around them rustled. It looked almost like any other countryside that they had seen, but only more beautiful. A fresh scent followed with the wind, heightening all of their senses.

"Look at this!" Brad shouted, as he pointed to a nearby river. "Clear water. Pure, crystal clear water."

"It's all so clean. No trash and pollution. This place is incredible!" David said.

"Only in the daytime, though," Noel replied. "At night, creatures roam the countryside in search of blood."

"Spooky," Alice said. "So where are we?"

"There's a large rock wall over there. If I'm right, we're just southeast of Lon Lon Ranch. It's going to be a few hours walk to Kakariko, however, so we'd better fly. Don't hold back; I'm sure Ganondorf noticed the rift so he knows we're here." They all nodded in agreement as they began to hover into the air. Because of their limited flight abilities, David put an arm around Tom's waist and Noel did the same with Alice and they took off at full speed. "If we follow this river north we should reach Kakariko in a fraction of the time," he shouted back at them. "We have to hurry, though. We don't have a lot of time to waste."

Two hours passed as they continued to fly over the expansive countryside. The aerial view made it even more beautiful than before, and from way up high they could see everything, including the various wildlife. Normal animals such as deer and wild horses grazed in the open field, but there were unusual…creatures…as well. Alice could've sworn she saw some sort of large plant in the ground. But when anything got close to it, it would rise from the ground and four petals would rotate like helicopter blades and allow it to hover in the air.

"Is that the village up ahead?" Brad asked after another hour had passed.

"Yeah, come on," he said, as they landed and started to dash to the large stairway hill in front of the small town.

"Where are we going to meet the Sages?" Brett asked.

"Impa's house is near the back of the village on a ledge. We'll all meet up there." The village was surprisingly quiet, with only a couple of people out and about, but with Noel leading it didn't take long to find the house.

"What took you so long?" Saria asked, when they walked through the door.

"Somebody gave Will the wrong co-ordinates for the portal," Noel replied. For a brief second, though, a tone in Noel's voice caught Alice's attention. It seemed that he didn't buy into what he just said. Nobody else seemed to notice, though, so she kept it to herself.

"Oops, sorry," she blushed. "I thought they were okay."

"No time for apologies," he brushed it off quickly. "Everybody ready?"

"We all are," replied a large, rock creature.

"Okay, before we start, let's go over the basics of the mission. Mainly, places where to be and meet, and introductions. First, the introductions. Guys, I'd like you to meet the Sages of Hyrule: Saria, the Forest Sage; Darunia, the Fire Sage; Ruto, the Water Sage; Impa, the Shadow Sage; Nabooru, the Spirit Sage; and Rauru, the Light Sage."

Each Sage had unique characteristics that showed as they stood there. Saria was the smallest of them, about a head shorter than Noel. She stood there with her arms slightly crossed across her chest. She had a green hairband in her hair. Her green hair was short, barely cut to shoulder length, and curled upwards under her pointy ears. Normally she was smiling, which would be reflected in her ocean blue eyes, but right now her face was set in fiery determination. She wore a forest green turtleneck sweater underneath a lighter green vest that was tucked into modest green shorts. Around her waist was a green belt with a gold lining around the buckle. Finishing off her outfit was her matching boots that went midway to her knees.

Darunia, in stark contrast, was the largest of the group, easily towering over Brett himself. His skin was a goldish brown and looked as hard as rock. In fact, it might very well been made out of rock. His muscles bulged out and were as big as boulders and veins could be seen rippling through them. He had a big pot belly, but it didn't look like a soft spot at all. The opposite might be held true, though. If you tried to strike that area, you could end up flattened when he fell on you. He had a round head, but the goldish colored hair that protruded like a lion's mane easily offset it. The only noticeable articles of clothing he had were rope armlets around his ankles and wrists. In truth, he looked like a race completely different to the Hyrulians the team had seen so far. Although usually very jovial to see a "brother" with his friends, his face was stern, matching the battle ready look Saria had. And unlike normal eyes by human standards, his ruby eyes burned like fire into each of their souls.

Ruto, like Darunia, appeared to be a different race than the Hyrulians, being a mix between a fish and a Hyrulian. Her skin was smooth and bluish-white in color, with a set of large fins hanging, almost floating, gracefully from her arms and waist. Whereas her feet were webbed completely, her beautiful slender hands were not. While her face was human enough, the part of her head above it was large and had two fish eyes on the top corners. Hanging from her gill-like ears were two beautiful amethyst earrings, matching her human eyes. Although also usually very happy in nature, she wore a very concerned look for the task at hand.

The Shadow Sage, Impa, was about as tall as Ruto. Noel mused silently that at one point she had been a head taller than him, but his recent growth spurt had just put her an inch or two taller than him. Her short gray hair was tied up into a short ponytail, and her brown eyes looked at the group stoically. She had switched from casual clothes to more of a metallic blue body armor type of clothing. The leather band around her neck, however, was still present with the same strange eye symbol like before. Though mostly emotionless, Noel could pick out a sense of determination in her features.

Nabooru was an inch shorter than Noel and took on the appearance of that of a movie actor from one of the old Arabian films. Out of the entire group, she was the one that most closely resembled normal humans, as her ears were not pointed. Her brick red hair was pulled back into an extremely long ponytail and matched her eyebrows. Her eyelids were shaded golden, matching her strangely golden eyes. She wore a two piece Gerudo outfit. Her tan skin contrasted with her pink pants, which were very baggy. Around her waist was a gray bone tooth belt connected by a large gray metallic piece. She had shoes that had the toes curled upward at the end. She wore golden armlets on her slender biceps with pink fingerless gloves that went up to her elbow and matched her pants and soft pink lips. On her fingers was an assortment of expensive rings. The golden bands around her ankles and neck matched the ones on her arms and all had a ruby in the center. Hanging from the one on her neck, however, was a large gold piece of jewelry with a giant ruby placed in the center. If all of these weren't enough, along with her gold earrings, the large piece holding her hair in place housed the largest gem any of them had ever seen. The only other piece of jewelry on her was attached to her forehead and was the sign of a Gerudo, the same that Ganondorf wore. She stood there regally and proudly, like a warrior princess.

Rauru was a little heavyset and short, though still taller than Saria. He wore a large hooded robe that had several strange designs. The most recognizable, however, was the symbol of the Triforce. The robe itself reached all the way to the ground, and the sleeves were closed where his hands should have been. The only part of him that was actually visible was his head. His ears were smaller than the others in the group, though still pointed. He was mostly bald with the exception of the patch of white hair in the back that was pulled into a very small ponytail and his white mustache, which met with his long white sideburns and the back part of his head. His blue eyes and bushy white eyebrows were set in a very serious look.

"Now remember," Noel continued, "the Sages, except Impa, and other Hyrulians will be hiding in the woods. After attacking the castle and drawing the enemies out, just turn around and run. Do not scatter."

"What exactly are we aiming for?" David asked.

"Anything that catches your eye. The point here is to just get the guards away from the castle so we can sneak in. Finally, when running, be sure to look for the markers. When you reach the last one, unleash everything you have. Everyone understand what they're doing?" They all nodded in agreement. "All right, we only get one shot at this so we've got to make it count."

OOO

Darkness had fallen, but peering through they could tell the castle grounds were teeming with creatures. The castle itself hadn't changed much yet, though the gates and general beauty of it had disappeared, but it did give off an evil aura. "Everybody ready?" Noel whispered, as he, Alice, and Impa peeked through a bush.

"They're in position," Impa replied, communicating telepathically with the second group. "Sages and Hyrulians are also ready." Without another word, Noel waved his hand to her in a signal.

They watched as silence engulfed the dark night. _'Come on, come on,'_ Noel thought impatiently. Suddenly, energy blasts came from one side and lit up the darkness. Explosions ripped across the night sky as enemies streamed towards the source. Robots and monsters alike rushed force like a giant herd of animals, weapons drawn and seeking blood. Noel snuck a quick look at his watch and signaled for the others to follow as they made their way to the entrance. Four more hours. They only had four more hours to end this. They quickly dispatched of any enemies in the way and started their ascent of the keep.

The first floor seemed empty enough, but when they headed for the stairs, bat-like creatures descended from the ceiling and attacked. "Watch out!" Impa shouted, shoving Noel and Alice out of the way. "Dark Ball!" Two orbs of shadow energy formed in her hands before she launched them into the large group. "Keese," she said simply, as they fell to the ground and disappeared. "We'll have to keep our guard up from here on." Noel and Alice nodded as they continued to ascend.

The second floor also seemed barren, but a few steps in and iron bars sealed off the exits and out of the floor arose two Stalfos. "We don't have time for this," Noel muttered. Using as little energy as he could, he formed two energy balls into his palms and promptly chucked them at the two skeletons. Predictably, the Stalfos blocked them with their shields, but Noel had already phased in behind them with super speed and slashed at their backs with the Master Sword. Before their bones could even hit the ground he plunged his sword into the floor and columns of light disintegrated them. "Come on, let's go," he stated, as the exits opened up.

"How much further is it?" Alice asked. The stairwell took a dramatic change from the others. While the stairs and halls had been pure stone, this one was more decorated. Rich red carpet adorned the center of the stairwell spiraling upwards, and the hallway it connected to had several stain glass windows.

"We're here," he said, smirking slightly as pipe organ music could be heard beyond a large door. "Ganondorf always did have a Phantom of the Opera complex," he joked, but Impa's glare quickly brought him back to business. He slowly opened the door and peeked through to see Zelda and Matt on two separate tables, apparently unconscious. On the opposite end of the room, though, Ganondorf had his back to the group and seemed to be fully into playing his organ. "You two grab them and get them out of here. I'll cover you by creating a diversion."

"So you've finally come!" Ganondorf shouted, back still turned to them and catching their attention. He turned around quickly, pushing his cape behind him and throwing three balls of shadow energy.

"Go now!" Noel shouted, stepping forward and swatting the attacks away with the Master Sword.

"Be careful!" Alice said. He nodded and charged the Evil King. Following Impa's lead, she dashed over and quickly unlatched the straps that were holding Matt to the table while Impa did the same with Zelda. Because of some of the training, her brother's weight seemed insignificant so she was easily able to hoist him over her shoulder. She and Impa traded a quick nod as they rushed towards the door, but before she left she dared a quick glance in Noel's direction. She paused to watch as he was still in close combat with Ganondorf. Noel had put the Master Sword away and was resorting to hand-to-hand combat now. She wanted to yell to him to escape, but a hand on her shoulder quickly drew her attention. She flinched and was about to attack, but it was Impa that was prodding her.

"He'll be fine," she said in a commanding voice. "We must leave now!" Alice hesitated slightly, but agreed and followed back down the winding staircase. When they reached the Stalfos room, though, a shudder shook the entire castle.

"What's happening?" she asked, pausing to regain her composure.

"Hurry!" Impa shouted. "Ganondorf is using his magic to ensure that nobody can enter or escape!" Alice remembered Noel mentioning that the castle would at one point float above a pool of lava, but the magnitude of the situation hit her when they reached the exit. Only about three feet separated the entrance to the edge of the newly formed cliff, and far below was indeed a boiling lake of fiery magma. "Will you be able to fly to safety with him?" she asked concernedly. Alice took a deep gulp nervously, but nodded all the same.

"Yeah…yeah," she stuttered slightly. "I know how to fly a little, but I think I can make it." She watched as Impa leapt forth with great strength and agility, falling all the way to the ground. Though the span from the sky-born castle and the landmass below was three hundred feet up and twenty feet away, the Sheikah easily did a flip in the air and landed safely onto one knee with her cargo still intact. Alice took a deep breath in as she felt her energy flow out and beneath her, lifting her up into the air. She wobbled for a second, but quickly gained control and hovered towards solid ground. She about five feet above the ground, though, when her energy gave out, but Impa was quickly there to catch her.

"You still have a lot to learn, but you've come a long way in only two days," she said, lowering the exhausted girl to the ground.

"Thanks," she said between gasps of air. A movement caught her eye, but turning around she found the others had arrived. They were slightly worse for wear, but other than that they were in one piece. Standing behind them were the other five Sages.

"I'll take Matt and Zelda back to the village," Ruto offered. Alice nodded as she handed Matt to her. After Ruto had disappeared with the two children she heard a small explosion and turned around to find one of the castle walls had exploded.

"No! Noel!" she shouted, running to the edge. She was about to take off, despite her lack of energy, but felt something holding her back. She looked back to find Impa holding her in place with her powers. "Let me go! I have to help him!"

"Alice, calm down!" David said. "He'll be fine." She resisted a little more, but quietly sighed in defeat. She stared up at the castle again as the smoke and dust from the explosion started to clear. The next sight, however, took everybody's breath away.

A silhouette of pure evil appeared. And in his hand was the limp body of Noel.

A/N: Finally, a decent cliffhanger. There's actually not much to say here this time. This was going to originally be one chapter, but I had to break it up into two. The actual fight is going to be next chapter, and it will end this arc of the story. The chapter after that will be the summary, and then we get into the major Crossover parts of the story. As far as fighting is concerned, I'm planning to go with more of a DBZ theme mixed with Zelda elements. That way I can stay true to the beginning somewhat.

I think that's about it. Please REVIEW!


	21. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: I really wanted to get this chapter out a week and a half ago, but I went overseas last week and I used the week prior to get ready for it.

This chapter was supposed to be one chapter, but I had to break it up into two. The next chapter, though, will finish up the arc and be the summary, so don't worry about it being short.

Two notes I'd like to mention, though, on previous chapters. First, I'm dropping Shield Alpha and Shield Gamma from Noel's techniques. In my mind he'll never use them, and he'll rarely use the other two. Secondly, earlier I mentioned the Master Sword having three holes in the hilt. In the process of limiting Noel's power, I'm reducing those holes to two. These will come into play a little ways down the road. I may change those in the actual story, but it's much easier to make note of them and move on. Besides, they're not major, story-breaking changes.

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy!

Chapter 17

"Noel!" Alice cried. She and the others backed away, partly in fear, as Ganondorf drifted closer to them with Noel still in his grasp. An evil, sardonic grin plastered his face as he landed not too far from the ledge. "Ganondorf, let him go!"

"As you wish," he said simply. With a casual motion, he tossed the unconscious boy over his shoulder and into the pit.

"No!" she cried out in horror. Everybody else stood there, stunned, but her scream mirrored their faces. Ignoring her fatigue, she lunged at the evil maniac. She wasn't so desperate to attack him, but to just get past him and get to Noel. However, her efforts were in vain as Ganondorf appeared beside her and elbowed her in the face, sending her skipping across the dirt. "Get…out…of…my…way…dirtbag!" she said with an extreme amount of fury and rage, pulling herself to one knee.

"You? Threatening me?" Ganondorf laughed. "What can you do, girl? You can barely stand!" All of a sudden, though, four large energy blasts slammed into his side. He was sent slightly off balance as the others pressed their attacks. David was the first to get there, throwing a punch that any normal person wouldn't have been able to track, but Ganondorf regained his composure and agilely slid underneath and plowed a fist into his stomach. Using him as a shield, Ganondorf pulled David into the path of Brad's kick, leaving the fighter open to a counterattack. Ganondorf didn't waste the opportunity as he launched a Warlock Punch directly into Brad's chest before discarding David's body into Brett. Tom was lucky enough to pull away before he too was attacked and regrouped next to his older sister.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'll live," she said, weakly trying to stand. "I'm afraid Noel was right, though," she added bitterly. "I'm not going to be much good in this fight. He's much more powerful than I could've imagined."

"Can you throw an energy attack yet?" he asked, ignoring her pessimism.

Confusion lit her face as she replied, "I've got enough for one, maybe two shots. Don't know how much good it'll do, though…"

"We've got to at least try," he said. "For Noel." At these words she nodded. "On three…" The pair hadn't had much time to work on anything spectacular, but being siblings they knew how to work together. With a simple glance, the one knew what the other was thinking and they both took a fighting stance. At this point Ganondorf had slowly been advancing, the look on his face showed he was merely playing with his opponents. "Three!" Simultaneously, the two threw out both their hands and unleashed as much power as they could. The beams twisted around each other before forming into one large blast, aimed directly at the Gerudo thief.

"Fools!" he shouted, backhanding it away as if it was just an annoyance. The ricocheted blast careened into a nearby patch of trees, causing a massive explosion and turning them to dust.

Each second felt like an eternity as the two teenagers stood there, stunned that their attack was utterly useless. Tom was the first one to snap back into reality, narrowly jumping back to escape a fatal flying roundhouse kick to his face and blocking the elbow that followed. He desperately stood his ground, trying with all his might to protect his unmoving sister. Between the damage she sustained and the forced energy attack, her energy had been completely drained. Finally, though, one of Ganondorf's attacks broke through his defenses, sending him hurtling into his sister and sending them both into a nearby tree from the forest. "I can't believe this…" Tom groaned to himself, untangling himself from his now unconscious sister. "It's been less than two minutes into this fight and he totally annihilated us!" He looked over and saw the other three slowly recovering and pulling themselves to a fighting position. A wry grin crossed his lips. _'I guess we won't make it after all,'_ he thought.

'_Don't worry, Tom. Help is on the way,'_ a voice, specifically Saria's, echoed in his head. He looked around in confusion, but strangely the Sages had disappeared.

"This fight has become boring!" Ganondorf bellowed, pulling Tom from his thoughts. "I'll finish you all with one attack and take my rightful place as ruler over all!" The four boys took a deep breath as Ganondorf began to gather a large ball of black energy above his head. The others were frozen in place, but David attempted a charge, only to be knocked back by Ganondorf's powerful black aura. They all stood there, and time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, though, a voice echoed through crackling noise of energy.

"Light Beam!" A ray of light shot through the air, knocking the black ball into the dark night, where it exploded safely. A second ray followed it up immediately, however, and plowed into Ganondorf's back, throwing him face first into the dirt.

"What?" he shouted in pure anger, infuriated that anybody would dare harm him. The sight that greeted him as he turned around only caused him to be further enraged, but it brought hope to everybody else. Not more than a few feet away from the edge of the pit, Master Sword in hand with the tip resting on the ground, and panting heavily, was Noel. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, but the wound that stood out the most was the large gash on the side of his head. Though the blood mostly had caked over by now, it was still trickling down his face. His face was weary, but full of fight and determination. "You! You should be dead!"

"You know, it's a funny thing," Noel replied with a slight smirk. "Next time you throw me into a pit of lava…you might want to make sure I actually land there! Turns out a conveniently placed ledge broke my fall." The two fighters stood there for what seemed like ages before Ganondorf pulled himself to his feet and spoke up.

"Heh, heh, heh," he laughed. His laughter broke out into all out howling. "It doesn't matter in the slightest! After I'm through with you, you'll wish you died by evaporation! Now die!" Dark energy formed into the Evil Thief's hand, but Noel managed to dodge before it could collide with him. When he landed, however, it legs quivered and he couldn't avoid a second attack.

'_Okay, it's time to stop bluffing,'_ Noel thought, wincing as he tried to pull himself up. Not more than a few yards away he could see Ganondorf powering up for another attack. _'I'm as messed up as everybody else, and if I don't do something quick then we're all toast!'_ His thoughts were interrupted, though, as a large black ball headed directly for him. He found he couldn't muster the energy needed to dodge, so he braced himself for the worst. The worst never came, though, as three figures stepped in front of the blast and combined their energy to counter it.

"Kiiiahh!" Brett, David, and Brad shouted together, merging their energies together into one large beam. The two attacks lingered for a moment before resulting in a chain reaction that caused an explosion, knocking both parties further away from each other.

"Is…is…everybody okay?" Noel asked weakly, somehow finding the energy to pull himself to his hands and knees. He groped around a little bit for the Master Sword, which he had dropped in the explosion, before finding it and using it as a support.

"I've seen better days," David replied. His clothes were torn in several places, and blood was running from several wounds.

"I'll live," Brad agreed. He too was pretty banged up, with one arm defensively protecting the spot Ganondorf had used his Warlock Punch on. Though he appeared overall in better shape than David, Noel could tell he had sustained some internal injuries.

"Heh, can't let you have all the fun," Brett laughed humorously through his own pain. Out of the three he was the one with the least amount of injuries, mainly because he was taken out of the fight indirectly by David's body. "So, do we have any ideas how to get out of this mess?"

"Do you guys still have your canisters?" Noel asked. Unfortunately, all three shook their heads.

"Sorry, Noel," Brett replied. "We used them after we got done with the Goon Squad. Alice might still have hers on her, but she's a little out of it right now."

"That's just great," Noel said despondently. "Mine must've fell down into the lava, because I didn't have it when I woke up. We need to regroup. Brett, do you think you can buy us a couple of seconds to get to Alice's canister? Even though it won't heal us completely if we share it, it might give us enough energy to finish this fight."

"Yeah…yeah, I think so," he said slowly, although there was no confidence in his voice at all. The memory of Ganondorf taking them all down was still fresh in his mind. The smoke of the explosion had just finished clearing, revealing a very cocky Gerudo. His arms were crossed and an evil, arrogant grin was plastered to his face.

"Did you four have a good rest?" he inquired with a proud laugh. "Good, 'cause break time's over!"

"Land Mine Burst!" A voice cried out, and a couple of explosions interrupted Ganondorf's charge, knocking him to the ground.

"Brett, now!" Noel commanded.

"Giga Smash!" Without a moment's hesitation, Brett released the strongest blast he could while the others raced to Tom and Alice's side.

"Thanks for the cover fire," Noel said to Tom. "How's your sister?"

"She's still pretty out of it," he replied. "I overheard a little bit of your plan, but her canister must've been punctured when we landed. We lost most of it, and because she was worse when we landed I gave the rest to her."

"So we're pretty much dead in the water," Noel stated wryly.

"Sorry, Noel, and I used the last of my energy on that surprise attack. I managed to plant it when he knocked us back."

"Don't worry, we'll figure out something," Noel said, trying to sound confident. In truth, though, he didn't know what to do.

"Incoming!" David cried out. Noel snapped back to reality as a bloody and beaten Brett flew by them, crashing into a tree.

"Do the…words…'we're screwed' mean anything to anybody?" Brett mumbled, as the others helped him up.

"Yeah, I'm pretty much hoping for a miracle right about now," Noel freely admitted.

"There will be no miracles!" Ganondorf boomed. "You all will die here and now, and I'll take my rightful place as ruler over all!"

"Dream on, creep! Spirit Blast!" a voice cried out. An orangish-colored beam of energy shot out from the shadows of one of the nearby trees and crashed into the Gerudo thief, causing an explosion and knocking him back a few feet, though he didn't fall. When the smoke cleared, a very defiant Nabooru stood between him and the group with arms outstretched in a protective manner.

"You dare defy your king, you wretch?" Ganondorf shouted, angered at yet another distraction.

"You were the Gerudo king by birth," the Gerudo woman countered, "but I will never bow to an evil man like yourself! And we won't let you destroy our beautiful land!" As she said this, the other five Sages appeared. Darunia, Impa, and Rauru stood by her side while Ruto and Saria tended to the others.

"It's about time," Noel said to Saria slightly harsh. "Where have you guys been?"

"Sorry," she countered defensively. "We used up most of our power earlier; we needed a couple minutes to recharge."

"We'll do what we can to heal you," Ruto added. "The Princess and Matt are safe at Impa's house for now, but it's up to you to win this fight."

"Heal Brad and Brett first; they need it most," Noel replied, calmer now than before. The two boys were about to protest, but he had already turned back to the battlefield. The Sages were holding their own fairly well against Ganondorf, though their attacks were doing miniscule, if any, damage at all. They managed to nimbly jump around, all the while avoiding attacks and delivering their own.

"Omega Flare!" Darunia commanded, and a massive fireball connected with Ganondorf's exposed back, pitching him forward into Rauru's prepared attack.

"Searing Light!" he shouted, releasing a beam of light into Ganondorf's chest. The Evil King flew head over heels, but quickly rebound off the ground with his hands and avoided another Spirit Blast from Nabooru. The moment he touched the ground he sent a sidekick towards Impa, but she agilely slid underneath it and brought her dagger towards his heart, only to be blocked by his metal gauntlet. She kicked back to put some space between her and her opponent as a punch just barely was able to nick her face. She ignored the scratch, though, as she sent two Dark Balls flying towards him.

"They won't be able to keep this up much longer," Noel muttered, partly to himself and also to the group. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Brad and Brett were healed, followed by Alice and Tom.

"This shouldn't take too much longer," Ruto said to him as she stepped up to David. "Gentle Waters." She pulled out a small vial filled with crystal clear water that had been tied around her wrist and pulled the cork from it. As she concentrated on it, the water within began to flow out and gather into a small ball in the air. The more she concentrated, the more it gathered water vapor from it's surroundings and began to envelope David. As the cool liquid rested on his wounds, it began to shimmer with mystical energy and close up his injuries.

At the same moment Ruto had begun healing David, Saria had started on Noel. "Just give me a minute," she said, rummaging around a little in the small bag on her belt until she pulled out several small leaves. "Healing Herbs." Each leaf glowed with a strange light, but the effect was soothing as she applied them to the various spots that needed attention.

The process was almost complete when he suddenly heard Brett shout, "Watch out!" Without thinking, Noel wrapped an arm around Saria's waist and dove a few feet to the side. When he looked up again, he saw David had done the same with Ruto, and Brett and Brad had gone the opposite direction. Taking a quick glance to the battlefield, he noticed the four Sages that had been fighting were visibly winded and Ganondorf had noticed what the other two were doing, and he was clearly not pleased that he had missed with another energy blast.

"We'll buy you more time," Brad shouted. "Just hurry!" Before anybody could say or do anything, he stepped forward so he could get Ganondorf's attention. "Try this on for size! Flash Bomb!" He held his palm upwards and a white orb appeared. It didn't remain there for long, though, as he launched it at Ganondorf with as much strength as he could muster. The evil Gerudo smirked as he took up the challenge, though, and was about to swat it away like he had so many others when something else occurred. The moment he touched it, it exploded into a flash of blinding light. Even the others had to turn away, but they managed to see each other enough to regroup.

"Curse you, you little brats!" Ganondorf threatened, clutching his eyes. "You'll pay for giving me this much trouble!" After a few seconds the blinding light faded, and he looked up to see Noel in a relaxed standing position. His arms were at his side, and he was a few steps in between the group and Ganondorf.

"Let's finish this," he said simply, unsheathing the Master Sword, "old school style." A smirk lit his face, but his face was deadly serious.

"You won't fare any better than last time, twerp," Ganondorf laughed as a golden and black sword appeared in his hand.

"I guess we're about to find out!" Noel shouted in response as the two powerhouses charged at each other. The metals clanged as they passed each other. Simultaneously they spun on their heel and headed for each other again, this time locking their blades and staring heatedly at each other. The fighters grunted as each one tried to push the other, but neither would budge an inch. With one final push, both jumped back and charged forward again. The blades clanged as the two warriors traded sword blows at a blinding pace, each waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Noel's blade soared over Ganondorf's head, but he ducked underneath at the last second and stabbed with his own sword. Noel barely dodged the strike, moving to the side to get out of the way, but it was all Ganondorf needed to bring his elbow up into Noel's arm, releasing his grip on the sword. Noel didn't seemed phased in the least, though, as he released an energy blast directly into the Evil King's face, causing him to drop his own sword and clutch his face in pain with his now-free hand. The moment relief was brief, though, as the two fighters tried to strike at each other, but when promptly blocked retreated again. Again, the moment's rest was brief as both fighters took to the air and went immediately into hand-to-hand combat. Unlike previous skirmishes, though, there was no strategy involved. Each fighter used their fists and kicks to try and do as much damage with each hit as they could. In the end they were forced to back off again and they landed a few feet from each other.

Both fighters were badly beaten, but still standing strong. Noel had several scratches over his body where his clothes were torn, a couple of larger gashes on his face where blood was slowly running down his cheeks, and he was holding his left arm with his right hand.

Ganondorf was a little better off, though his condition wasn't too much better. His armor was broken in several places, but his muscular body didn't seem to have taken too much damage aside from that, though faint traces of blood could barely be seen through the dark cloth he had on. His face was covered in a few cuts and gashes, but the most noticeable wound was the blood pouring out his nose and mouth where Noel had got in a lucky punch. He was putting most of his weight on one leg, as his other one seemed dislocated from a particularly strong kick to the back of the knee.

Despite these wounds, however, both fighters had a battle-ready smirk plastered on their faces.

"Insane," Alice said, eyes wide as the two fighters went at it again. "It's absolutely insane! It's no wonder we got our tails wiped so quickly." Nobody responded to her, though, as everybody was too busy trying to keep up with the action.

"Do you think Noel can win this?" Brett asked David, who was carefully watching the exchange to the best of his ability.

"No," David said simply, catching everybody off guard with his certainty. "As hard as it is to believe, even with Noel being fully healed and Ganondorf already being weakened somewhat, Ganondorf is still stronger. Noel's barely keeping up as it is, but Ganondorf is still going on strong. Noel's energy is just about up, as well. We may have to step in again."

"Surely we can beat him, right?" Tom asked. "I mean, five on one, we should be able to finish the job easily."

"Even on his weakest day Ganondorf is stronger than all of us combined," David replied bluntly. "The only one who can stand toe-to-toe with him is Noel." He buried his fist into his open palm in frustration. "If only we knew how powerful Ganondorf really was, we could've been ready for this!" At that moment, Ganondorf released a punishing blow with both hands clasped together, sending the Guardian into the ground and creating a large crater. "That's our cue! Do or die, this ends now!" David shouted, taking off to the battle.

David managed to interrupt Ganondorf's charge into the crater with a properly placed kick. By the time he recovered, David, Brett, and Brad were standing between him and Noel. Tom and Alice descended into the hole to help the wounded Guardian, knowing that strong as they were, this battle was out of their league. For now, anyways.

"Why don't you people just stay down?" Ganondorf threatened angrily, but calmed down again. "No matter. I'll just crush you like the insects you are."

"Blah, blah, blah," Brad countered. "You're just spouting the typical villain talk. Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"

"Brad, I hope you have a plan," Brett whispered warily, watching as Ganondorf's face contorted to rage again.

"Delta attack as soon as he moves," came the reply. Nobody argued as they slowly shifted into fighting stances.

"Fine, if that's the way you want to play…" They almost didn't have a chance to move as Ganondorf's after image faded away and he appeared behind them. Brad and Brett slid off to the sides in opposite directions as David dove for the ground, rolled for a second, and came up into a fighting stance again. He managed to block a punch and a kick before Brad and Brett entered the fray, bringing the fight more into their favor.

'_Good grief, how can he still move so fast after taking so much?'_ David thought, avoiding another punch while his own was blocked. Without warning, Ganondorf pulled David into Brett's by his wrist, releasing a dark energy blast into his back and sending both of them away. Before Brad could react, though, Ganondorf pinned both of his arms down to his side and lifted a few inches off the ground. Brad desperately struggled to get free, but Ganondorf's grip didn't falter. Even when he tried to knee him in the stomach, he just shrugged it off.

"You vermin have given me too much trouble, and you will be the first to die!" Ganondorf stated, repeatedly head-butting Brad in the forehead and between the eyes. "Weakling," Ganondorf muttered after about five strikes or so. There was a large gash in Brad's forehead that was spewing out blood, but it was his smirk that caught Ganondorf's attention. Using a lot of effort, Brad stared at him through one open eye.

"Look down…jerk." Confused by the statement, he glanced down…to see an energy ball in Brad's open palms and pressed against his stomach. There was no time to react as Brad poured as much energy as he could into the attack, breaking Ganondorf's grip and sending him a few feet back.

"Futile!" Ganondorf shouted. "That only delayed the inevitable!"

"Guys, now!" Brad shouted, making Ganondorf finally aware of the presences of Brett and David, who had taken positions on opposite ends of him in a triangle-type pattern.

"Giga Smash!" Brett shouted, forming a large energy ball above his head and throwing it with all his might.

"Warring Worlds!" David commanded, a red energy ball forming in one hand and a blue one in the other. He threw both at the same time, and when they collided they formed a large golden ball.

"Spiral Wave!" Brad shouted, firing a beam that twisted around like a spring until it met its mark. Ganondorf didn't have time to dodge as all three blasts converged and collided with him at the same time. When the smoke cleared, though, Ganondorf was still standing, although heavily injured. Part of his armor had been blown away and there were several large cuts on his olive green skin. His face was contorted in rage and pain as he lowered his crossed arms from their defensive position. The three boys, now standing together again, stood in shock. Even in his weakened state he withstood their best attacks.

"You…impudent…brats!" he bellowed. "I'll show you the meaning of true power!" He raised a hand and a powerful amount of shadow energy began to form in the center of it. Before he could throw it, however, two more blasts slammed into his back and threw him to the ground. Before he hit, though, the energy found its mark at the boys' feet, knocking them several feet back. While the boys were struggling to regain their energy again, he slowly brought himself to his feet and turned to find Alice and Tom, both winded from the amount of power they used. "This is getting old! Why do you continually believe that you can defeat me?"

"We don't," Alice replied, surprising the Evil King with her answer, "merely setting the stage." He was about to demand to stop playing games, but he felt a sharp pain in the middle of his back and stomach. Looking down, horror etched his face as a blade of steel protruded from his abdomen.

"Checkmate," Noel simply whispered into his ear, kicking him off the Master Sword.

"How…why…" Ganondorf sputtered, as blood flowed freely from his many wounds, but mainly the ones in his stomach and back.

"To put it simply, they were distractions and you fell for it," Noel responded to the unasked questions. "And now your reign of terror ends." Noel was about to fire a Light Beam at his defeated opponent, but Ganondorf surprised him as he rose to his feet and swelled his black aura, pushing all of them back before collapsing again.

"Heh, I've managed to underestimate you again, Chosen One," he managed to gasp with a smirk, pulling himself to one knee. "But don't think that this is over; I will be back!" As black energy enveloped him into a dark ball, Noel noticed a golden glow on the back of one of his hands and his face froze in horror. An evil laugh permeated the air as Ganondorf flew to his now-impenetrable castle.

"No!" Noel finally shouted. Everyone, except the Sages, was puzzled at his reaction.

"Noel, what's wrong?" David asked.

"I'll…I'll tell you later," he said softly. "Come on, we need to check on the kids."

A/N: I'd first like to thank everybody who's reviewed so far. I know this chapter took a while to get out, but it's out a lot sooner than if I didn't get any reviews. Sadly, though, my second half of the semester has started up again and my workload just tripled, if not more. I have two block classes that go until the end of the semester, and each of them has a ton of work involved. I want to say that I can the next chapter out quick, but I don't know if that'll be possible. However, it's really my own fault because I slacked off the first half of the semester. So with all that said, I want to make a promise that in no more than three weeks will the next chapter be out (unless something out of my power comes up, which I'll let you know). It'll take that long to get everything back under control, but I do this for you faithful readers. Until then, I bid thee adieu!


	22. Summary Chapter

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Well, I kept my promise, although I probably could have gotten this out a few days ago if I tried harder. This is officially the end of the second arc, as well as an overall view of the story so far. I probably won't have another like this since the first two arcs were mainly character development. I'm going to try and be as accurate as I can with what I've said before, but to be honest I'm having trouble keeping all of my facts straight. In that case, feel free to go back and correct me of any mistakes, and if I can't explain them away, then I'll change them in one way or another. No matter what, though, any history here is law as far as Noel and the OC's go.

I again thank everybody who's reviewed up to this point and has tolerated me for so long. Without the helpful advice I get, I don't know where this story would be.

Summary Chapter

Impa's house was dark as the wounded and tired group stepped inside. A couple women met them at the door, intending to sit them down and tend to their wounds, but Noel quickly dismissed them. Knowing what he wanted, one beckoned for him to follow her to the back room where Matt and Zelda were resting. The town doctor hovered over both of them, examining them from every angle and trying everything he could to figure out what to do. "How are they?" Noel asked.

"Their breath is shallow, and their pulses are racing," he said despondently. "I've tried everything I can to stabilize them, but at this rate they only have about half an hour of life left." Noel nodded solemnly. On the return trip from Ganondorf's fortress, he could see the effects the spell was having on Hyrule. Though it hadn't affected Kakariko that much so far, that would change once the spell was complete. He knew that he had to break the spell, but time was short and he had never done this before. In truth, he didn't even know where to begin.

"Noel," Saria offered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The spell requires that the life forces of the two be joined. If we can break that bond between them, then we'll have succeeded in breaking the spell."

"I kind of figured it was something like that, but do you have any suggestions on how to do that?" he questioned.

"Maybe," she replied, reaching into her pouch and pulling out two individual leaves. They weren't any larger than normal maple tree leaves, but she went about placing them on the children's foreheads and chanting a few words. Within a minute or so, the leaves began to glow, and the glow enveloped their bodies. Soon the leaves disintegrated, but the desired effect still remained…the auras of the two were completely visible. Though separated by a few feet, everybody could clearly see Matt's fiery orange aura mingle with Zelda's soft pink one. "I think you know what to do," she said, stepping back.

Noel said nothing, but removed the Master Sword from its sheath. Taking a deep breath and gathering his energy, he brought the mystical sword down on the mingling fire with a mighty overhead swing. Blue lightning sparked as he fought to break through. The pain was agonizing, and he could feel every fiber in his body crying out in protest. Finally, the strain was too great and it threw him into the back wall. "I'm…I'm sorry…guys," he said as David and Alice hurried to help him up. "I just…don't have the energy left. The battle with Ganondorf left me drained."

"Come on, Noel," Alice encouraged. "We've come this far; don't give up now!"

"She's right," David agreed. "We're behind you one hundred percent."

Noel paused for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay…let's try it one more time." He took another deep breath. _'Sages. Friends. Hyrule. Lend me your power!'_ he cried out mentally, bringing down the Master Sword again on the ever growing aura. They could see the two fires begin to split as Noel used all the power he could. He gritted his teeth as he fell to one knee, but he held his ground. Everybody formed a semi-circle around him as they concentrated what little energy they had left into the Master Sword. All around him Noel could feel the power gathering and it drove him on, pushing the Master Sword even further into the aura and causing even more of a reaction. The struggle seemed like forever, but with one final exertion of strength the sword sliced through the last fibers of the fire and releasing the two children from the spell. One by one the fighters fell in utter exhaustion, where the hired hands hurriedly tried to tend to them all. Through all of this, though, Noel somehow found the strength to smile. _'Finally,'_ he thought, _'it's over.'_

OOO

Though physically exhausted, Noel woke late into the night. Finding he couldn't fall asleep again, he slowly crawled from the bed the women had put him on. He was thankful, as he noticed his wounds were bandaged up, although he knew that only a healing canister would allow him to fully recover. To his embarrassment, though, he found he was only wearing his undergarments and he moved pretty quickly to grab the nearby robe. _'Good grief, haven't they heard of anything called personal decency?'_ he thought, silently fuming a little and making his way through the quiet house. He was going to find Alice and check on her, but decided against it in case she would wake up in the same situation. _'And if she didn't kill me, her parents would,'_ he thought with a slight smirk. Instead, though, he went to check up on Zelda and Matt.

Using his Ember technique to guide him through the dark hallways, he walked in to find a handmaid watching diligently over the two children. "How are they doing?" he whispered, slightly startling her with his presence.

"They're resting right now," she responded, glancing back at them. Out of the corner of his eye, Noel noticed that she looked very tired, as if she hadn't slept most of the night. "The princess awoke earlier and asked for you. She said that she wanted to talk to you when you were ready."

"Well, we'll wait until tomorrow before we do that," he replied obviously, but not sarcastically. "Let them get as much rest as possible. Were there any wounds?"

"Nothing major," she reported. "They both had a few scratches and a couple bruises, but the doctor was able to patch them up. He said he would come back tomorrow with healing potions for everybody."

"That's good," Noel agreed, slightly massaging his aching shoulders, "because I'm going to need one." As he turned to leave he added. "You probably should get some rest; I think they'll be okay now. If anybody needs me, I'm getting dressed and heading to the windmill to watch the sunrise."

Though normally it wouldn't take Noel any amount of time to throw some clothes on, his injuries slowed him down considerably. When he did finally finish and float up to the hillside to sit, the sun was just beginning to peek over the distant entrance to the city. He noticed immediately that the village had reverted back to the way it was before the spell was cast. The land was very quiet, which was ironic considering what had gone on the night before. Noel didn't mind, though. _'The less commotion, the better,'_ he thought. He sighed as images of the past passed through his mind.

'_I suppose it all started when I met Saria,'_ he thought, remembering back to when he was four.

_He and a couple of his friends were playing just on the outskirts of the woods right alongside the small park that was in his neighborhood. Of course, their parents were there watching them, but somehow they slipped away and deeper into the woods. Keith and Lauren, neighborhood kids that Noel had known and been friends with for his whole life, were much more athletic than him even at such a young age. Because of that, it didn't take too long to become separated from them. The woods itself wasn't very large, but for a four year old it was easy to get lost in. _

"_Keith? Lauren? Where are you guys?" he cried out. He slowly made his way through the forest, looking this way and that for his friends. They had disappeared, though, and now Noel was beginning to become afraid. He had never been out in the woods alone before, and although there was plenty of daylight, it was very unnerving. Truth be told, Noel had always been more of an indoors person, so this made things even worse. He had no idea how to survive on his own. "Mommy!" he cried out, tears forming in his eyes._

"_Who…who's there?" a small voice reached his ears. The tears began to disperse, and his cries began to fade as he looked around for the voice. Not far from where he was standing was a decent sized ridge, and in its shadow was a small girl about his age._

"_Who…who are you?" he whimpered. She looked at him warily at first, fear and curiosity lighting her beautiful blue eyes. Her matching outfit consisted of a green T-shirt with green shorts and green socks and sneakers. Even her hairband and hair was green. For some reason this didn't strike Noel as strange, probably because he was only four and just thought this was normal, but the thing that he did find interesting was her pointy ears._

"_I'm…Saria," she whispered cautiously. "What's your name?"_

"_Noel," he answered, the traces of fear beginning to recede. "Do you live around here?" She meekly nodded. "Do you want to play?" A sweet smile formed across her face._

"_Okay," she smiled. Both children's fears melted away as they began to play together. Hours seemed to pass when Noel heard his mother calling desperately for him. He turned to see her rushing towards him, grasping him tightly in relief._

"_Don't you ever run away from me again," she scolded. "You scared me half to death!"_

"_Mommy, meet my new friend! Her name is Saria!" Noel exclaimed, pretty much ignoring his mother's condition._

"_Where is she?" she asked, looking past him._

"_Right behind…" He looked back, but Saria had disappeared. "…Me. She was right there! Honest!"_

"_Sure she was," his mother played along. As far as she knew, Saria was just another imaginary friend her son had conjured up. "Come on, sweetie, let's go home." Noel didn't argue, but looked back sadly. Surely he hadn't imagined this girl and all the playing they did together._

_That night, though, Noel decided to go back to the woods. How he was going to get back home on his own and not be noticed he hadn't figured out, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. What Noel lacked in athletics, though, he made up for in sneakiness. His older brother was very sneaky, and Noel had picked up several different things from him. Granted, he wasn't anywhere near as polished as his brother, but his mom was oblivious most of the time._

_He quietly snuck out_ _of the room he and his brother shared and down the hall to his mother's room. The house was equipped with an alarm system, but at this point he knew the code. The trick was getting past his light-sleeping mother. Fortunately for him, her door was open enough that all he had to do was enter the code, avoid the motion detectors as much as possible, and get out of the house before they noticed what he was doing. _

_Equipped with a flashlight that didn't give off a lot of light and his long plastic sword to offer some sort of protection, he put his plan into action. There was one small detail he seemed to forget, though. Looking up at the alarm system, he realized he was too short to enter the code. If he had been older, he probably would have cursed at this point. But he was only four years old, so he didn't know any colorful words to describe his situation at the moment so he had to be a little more resourceful. Once again, though, fortune smiled on him as there was a small stepstool in the hallway bathroom that he used to reach the sink easier. Though a little awkward to carry, he somehow managed to move it without being noticed and turned off the alarm._

_Ultimately, he did sneak out and make his way back to the woods. "Saria?" he whispered loudly, hoping that he would get her attention. In retrospect, it was highly likely that she wasn't here. After all, who actually lives in the woods? There was a moment of silence before Noel decided to turn and leave. Before he could take a few steps, though, a voice piped up._

"_Who's there," it asked dangerously. Noel turned to see a small figure holding a makeshift weapon. Slowly, Noel moved the flashlight into the stranger's face, and sighed a relief that it was the young girl._

"_It's Noel," he said, moving the light to his own face, causing her to loosen up as well. "What are you doing out here?"_

"_I could ask you the same thing," she countered._

"_Why'd you run away earlier?" he questioned, asking the question that had been on his mind for hours. She just looked at him for a moment before turning away slightly._

"_I…don't…know. It…just seemed like a good idea at the time," she answered. He decided to let it drop at that, seeing how it disturbed her._

_'I probably stayed there for another few hours,"_ Noel thought. _'Of course, I didn't totally get away with it. I wasn't as sneaky as I thought, and Mark noticed me leave and followed me," _he thought with a smirk._ 'It's probably a good thing, too; there's no way I would have survived if something had happened. Still, the blackmail I got for the next few months was horrible, but when mom did finally find out at least she went easy considering what he put me through.' _He paused for a moment to look over the horizon. _'Saria and I became fast friends; we talked about everything. I was really sad when she told me a year later she was leaving. However, a year after she moved away, things began to get really interesting. That's when Kellaway came into the picture.'_

Principal Kellaway. He wasn't really a principal, but the owner of an orphanage of sorts. _'More like a tyrant,'_ Noel mused. _'And an actor. He had all the adults fooled, even some of the most professional organizations. Anybody that did stand against him tended to disappear not long after. Questions tend to die when people do. _

'_There were a lot of children there. Of course, some were normal, and he used them for slave labor, but most were gifted in one way or another. He used those for his more important tasks, and they tended to have harsher punishments if they messed up. Whenever an organization would come and check his place out, he would put up a great act. He got the kids together, cleaned them up, and warned them what would happen if they tattled. Being literally whipped was nothing compared to what he devised, so the children naturally stayed quiet.'_

Noel cringed as he thought of the torture those poor kids went through. _'I would have never known about it if I hadn't met those kids in the woods that fateful day…'_

_It was a beautiful day as Noel walked through the woods. Keith and Lauren went a little ways ahead so he was able to enjoy the peace and quiet as he reflected what these woods meant to him. After all, two years ago he met Saria, although only a year ago she moved away. _

_He also relished in the freedom he had. No longer did his mom go to the woods with him, as long as his friends were with him, of course. The tiny neighborhood was too quiet to provide any real danger, so it was fine._

"_Noel! Noel! Help!" he heard Lauren cry suddenly not too far off. As fast as his short legs could carry him, he rushed off to find her. Fortunately, she was just around the corner, near the ledge he had first met Saria. Unfortunately, she and Keith were standing over six children who had collapsed._

"_What…who…where…" he stuttered, trying to comprehend everything._

"_I don't know," she said hysterically. "We just found them here!"_

"_Keith, go get help, quick!" he commanded, not knowing where the burst of leadership came from._

'_Turns out they came from the orphanage,'_ Noel thought. _'Boy, did that ever bring up some more issues! Since they felt they were safe from Kellaway, they told the authorities everything. Naturally, investigations were run and so forth, but nothing came up. The kids wouldn't even step foot into the place again, so it ended there. The kids were placed into another orphanage, and we all thought that was it. Of course, since Keith, Lauren, and I rescued them, we were able to visit occasionally. Until one day somebody adopted all of them at once, that is. We were all disappointed, because we didn't have a chance to say goodbye or anything. They were older than us by about four to six years, but they were really nice to us. Interestingly enough, they were this realms version of Will and the others. Bill, Carla, Luke, Laura, Aaron, and Scott were so similar to Will and the others that it's scary.'_

His face tightened as he relived his memories. _'We all thought it was over, but that was before Carla showed up in the woods again. This time she wasn't wounded, but she was definitely waiting for us. It turns out that a couple of Kellaway's goons were the ones that 'adopted' them. Carla was able to sneak away with the help of the others, and needed help from us to break them out. Of course, we were extremely hesitant, but since the adults couldn't do anything about Kellaway then it was up to us. Though it almost cost us our lives in a couple of spots, we did succeed. Then came the actual hard part: bringing Kellaway down. _

'_I wasn't exactly the most subtle person as a kid, and my classmates found out what I was doing. They thought I was nuts! More so than usual, I suppose. Anyway, Aaron and Scott were technological geniuses, and they were capable of making incredible stuff for the fight. I'm glad I had people like Brett, Keith, and Jordan to back me up despite my insanity. Lauren helped Carla as medics for us, and Brett managed to convince a few others, Brad being one of them, to join the group. Of course, as families moved away and such, we would lose parts of our group, but others would arrive to fill the gap. That's the case with David, anyway. He showed up near the end of the war, but he was extremely helpful. _

'_Once the actual fighting started, it didn't take long for people to see what Kellaway really was. Naturally we had to hide our identities, otherwise there would be problems, to say the least. They armor that Aaron and Scott gave us did that and more. We managed to win the war, although it came at a price. The final battle was a doozy, destroying everything we had worked so hard to build. In the end, though, Kellaway let down his guard and we managed to throw him into a warphole that he designed to destroy us. Ironic that the creator was defeated by the creation, but that's the way it goes when it's used for evil. _

_'Of course, the fun didn't end there,'_ he mused. _'Less than a year after Kellaway was defeated, I decided to go into the detective business. Though not my very first case, one of my adventures took me to an old temple to retrieve the Green Emerald Ring. I met Gaia, a Watchkeeper of her own realm.'_ He stopped on that thought for a moment. He had told Alice earlier that she was a Guardian, like himself, but with a little more research he realized he was wrong. A Watchkeeper is more of a steward of a world, watching as events unfold and manipulating them appropriately as needed. The Sages are a good example of Watchkeepers. Guardians, however, are the defenders. In a sense, Will could be seen as a Guardian of his realm, though he descended from the lineage of the Dark Knights. Noel met him when Gaia transported him to her home realm to help Will with a particular case.

The last real case Noel took on, and arguably the one that influenced him the most, was when his choir director was kidnapped. Ultimately, a cyborg was behind it all. _'He used my real name after I beat him and called me a Guardian. A few years later, Ganondorf showed up and all heck broke loose. And now this…'_ he thought.

_'I didn't realize it then, but everything was setting me up for this moment. Ganondorf sent Dark Gaia and the cyborg to destroy me, while Zelda was using her power to protect me. Somehow, they figured that I was the one the prophecy was talking about. I really wish I could get my hands on that scroll and find out what it said…'_

"Don't think too hard," a voice said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You might hurt yourself even more."

"Thanks, Saria," Noel responded sarcastically, not even turning around. "Nice to see you're back to your old sarcastic self."

"I picked it up from you," she answered playfully, taking a seat next to him. "So…rupee for your thoughts?"

"I was just thinking about everything that's happened since you left so long ago," he answered absent-mindedly. "Why was I chosen?" he asked unexpectedly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"I mean, I almost lost everything today. Ganondorf had us overpowered, and if it hadn't been for you guys stepping in we would've been toast," he replied. "And why didn't you tell me he had the Triforce of Power?" His voice had a hint of anger in it. "If I had known that…"

"…You probably wouldn't want to even try and fight," Saria interrupted defiantly. "Don't give me that pile of crap that you would've trained harder, because if you knew from the very beginning who you would be fighting against and what kind of power he had, you would have turned tail and run." The look on his face turned to one of utter offense, but she looked him straight in the eye. "I'm serious, Noel. You're only human. Back then you weren't nearly as powerful as you are now, and if we had told you how powerful Ganondorf was or will get then you would have been completely afraid. You would have refused to fight and you know it!"

"Then why didn't someone who was stronger get picked?" he asked, his tone slightly softer.

"Noel, I have no idea. All I know is that you were chosen, and that you can do this. You're friends are all behind you. I'm behind you." He looked up to see her sweet smile. He put his arm around her and pulled her close.

"Thanks, I needed that," he said reassuringly. "One last question, though. Why is Ganondorf after my realm, and if you're bound here then how were you able to interfere?"

"That's actually two questions," she responded playfully, pulling away. He just rolled his eyes in response. "Well, to answer that second question, Zelda interfered a little. You were actually trapped in a dream world, allowing virtually no time to pass. Of course, the spell he used did have limitations, so only your town was enveloped in it. While in that world, he could manipulate pretty much anything or anybody he wanted. His intent, of course, was to amass an army right there and slowly expand outwards until the realm fell. What he didn't count on, though, was Zelda sending me to interfere. With a little of her light magic, I was able to counteract the dark spell he was trying to place over you. Though even we didn't count on the Master Sword of the Realms showing up and picking you to be its wielder! I just made the suggestion to the princess that you would be a great asset if we trained you properly. After all, I've seen you in action; I know what you can do. This changed everything, though. With the Master Sword at your disposal, I knew what I had to do. By linking my consciousness to the Pendant of Wisdom, I was able to affect yours indirectly. That's how you gained so much knowledge, and how you knew about my 'training center'. At this point Ganondorf knew he had to intervene, so he entered the dream personally and took over. By that time, though, you were with me and I was able to cloak your presence in the dream world. Think of it was a small bubble in a larger bubble. You, Alice, and part of her family remembered what happened because they weren't under Ganondorf's spell at the time. If Ganondorf had woken them up while still under his control, it would have been the equivalent of possession."

"I think I got that," Noel said, "but what about my equipment? How did I have it after I woke up?"

"It followed you," she replied simply. "I don't know how to explain it other than that. Its power is far beyond anything we can comprehend."

"What about my first question?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Strangely enough, you'd think that with all the parallel universes out there that more than one would link to Hyrule," she said. "And that may very well be true, but as it stands right now, yours is the only one he can access freely. He can pull elements from other realms, but he has to go through yours to get to the others. We're pouring all our energy in keeping tabs on him, but he's become sneakier and was able to get past both of us to get his spell book. Noel, you have to be careful. If he defeats you, then it's all over. If he gains control over even one realm and gets his hands on the Key of Realms, then we'll never be able to seal him away!"

"What's the Key of Realms?" he asked curiously.

"It's a powerful artifact that allows the user to realm hop effortlessly, no matter how powerful a barrier is. Even if we succeed in sealing him somewhere, he can just use it to bypass us. Even worse, if he takes over a realm then he'll have an army waiting when he returns," she explained.

Noel let out a deep sigh. "How much longer do we have?"

"About five years or so."

"Now for the million dollar question, what happens after I return the Master Sword to the pedestal? Is there a way to bring back those that died?"

"I…I'm not sure," she said softly. In truth, she had an idea, but she didn't want to get his hopes up. "Listen, it's getting late. I need to get back to the Chamber of Sages, and I'm sure the princess wants to talk with you." He didn't respond, but she assumed that he heard her. Either way, though, she decided it was time to go. Slowly, she rose to her feet and disappeared into the shadows of the windmill.

"Saria?" he asked, turning around only to find her gone. Giving a sigh he said, "I suppose she's right. I'd better get inside and see how the others are doing."

He had only taken a few steps when a wave of pain washed over him, causing him to fall to his knees. Images began to flash in his mind. Images of a tall man, wearing black armor with a black overcoat with silver shoulder-pads. He had long, silver hair and pale green eyes that glowed with a strange eeriness. Across his face was an evil, arrogant grin. The weapon in his hand, though, was what made Noel sweat the most. The man held a blade that was at least twice his height, but he carried it effortlessly. Suddenly, as quick as the image came, it disappeared again, leaving Noel a gasping mess. "What in the world was that?" he questioned, slowly rising to his feet and making his way to the house. Whatever it was, he didn't think it was a good omen.

OOO

Elsewhere, in a realm hidden from all others, six shadows converse about recent events. "So you told him?" one said.

"I didn't see the harm," a second one said. "He's fighting now, and he knows it's going to be a long hard battle. I've known him longer than any of you; he can and will see it to the end."

"My fear is that it won't be enough," a third piped in.

"Darunia, I believe in them. As a team, they will defeat Ganondorf," the second one, Saria, argued. "And, Rauru, I still think what I told him will help him in the long run."

"We won't be able to help them again," Ruto said. "Our power is limited to Hyrule now, and Ganondorf is not foolish enough to launch another attack here."

"He's strong, though," Nabooru added. "And he'll get stronger. After all, he has Guardian blood running through his veins. Right now, we can only hope that it is enough."

"Saria, you must remember not to let your personal emotions interfere with the mission. Still, we'll see…" Impa said.

A/N: Ugh, I am SO glad this chapter is done and over with. In theory this was supposed to just summarize Noel's past up to this point, but it didn't go quite like I planned. All in all, I have mixed feeling about this. Kellaway's part was extremely difficult to write just because I wanted to make it believable. It's just a fantasy world I had as a little kid and I'm trying to weave it into the story. (I did the same with the detective stories) There's a lot more to that, but I'm not going to TOTALLY humiliate myself on the Internet. :)

Okay, now for a few ending notes. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. So sorry there's no action to this, but like I said before, this was mainly a history chapter. Likewise, if there are any mistakes you can make out, feel free to jot me a note. I'm trying to be as consistent as I can, but with all the information it's not easy.

There's one other annoyance I'd like to note. I try to catch this as much as I can, but for some reason some of my formatting gets messed up. Mainly italics and the such when you're reading, but in my actual documents the whole kit and caboodle gets weird on me. I still don't know what the reason is, but I often don't see it until much later. Hopefully it hasn't been a problem for you guys, but if you see anything blatant, shoot me an email and I'll try and change it. I usually just make a note of the minor things and move on, but stuff like this really irks a perfectionist like me. Just thought I would bring that to everybody's attention…

Well, we're moving onto the next arc, and it's a rather large one. So large, in fact, that I've divided it up into several smaller parts. I don't know when the next chapter will come out, though, but I'll get it out as soon as possible. Later for now! Please READ AND REVIEW!


	23. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Well, I'm back again. Sorry this took so long, but between the last few weeks of school and this last long bout of laziness, I just haven't had any inspiration to start this next arc. Anyway, nothing new to report, so enjoy.

Chapter 18

Normal. Sometimes that's what Noel would like to be. But after Ganondorf attacked his home, Noel's life would be anything but normal. By finding the three Pendants of Virtue, he was chosen to wield the mystical Master Sword of the Realms and drove back the invading darkness.

Time passed after the first clash of the super powers, but it wasn't long before the peace was shattered yet again by the Evil King. Only after teaming up with some old friends, could he save Alice's brother, Matt, and Princess Zelda of the Hyrule Realm from Ganondorf's clutches. When he found out after the battle that Ganondorf possessed the Triforce of Power, his friend Saria had to reassure him of his purpose and revealed what might happen if the evil being wasn't stopped. The war has just begun, though, and Noel was left to wonder what lies ahead…

OOO

"Man, it feels good up here," Noel thought, as he flew slowly above the clouds. Though a year and a half had passed since Ganondorf's last major attack, Noel hadn't been able to do this as much as he liked. "That U.N. meeting took entirely too long!" He closed his eyes as the wind gently caressed his face and blew through his short brown hair. He stopped, however, when his watch began to beep. "Shoot, I'd better put it into high gear; I forgot I was supposed to meet Alice and the others at the County Fair today," he said, a white aura surrounding him as he took off again. _'She's been pretty upset with me lately, and if I'm not there it'll give her something else to be mad at me about. And there's nothing worse than when that woman gets ticked off,'_ he thought, as he dove through the clouds. He had to swerve suddenly, though, to avoid colliding with the side of a seven forty-seven. "Except maybe that! Man, it's getting way too crowded up here," he said with a smirk, taking off yet again.

OOO

"Here he comes!" exclaimed Brad, as he pointed at a white dot in the sky.

"You're late," Alice stated with an irritated tone when he had landed.

"Sorry, the meeting ran long and traffic was a little rough," Noel replied calmly. Alice rolled her eyes, but he just shrugged it off and smiled. "Oh well, I'm here now so let's have some fun." As the group walked up to the ticket counter, Noel looked over the group. "Hey, where's Tom?" he asked Alice.

"He had a previous trip he was going on, remember?" she responded with a slightly icy tone. "He told you that last weekend when you suggested this thing."

"Oh…yeah," he responded rather dumbly, which in return received a slight sigh from her.

"Hurry up, guys, or else we're gonna start without ya!" Brad shouted. Noel and Alice looked to see that David and Brett had already dashed ahead, and Brad was quick to follow. Quickly, Noel ordered two day-passes for them and handed over the money.

Due to some mysterious benefactor, the fair had been expanded that year larger than ever before. The rides and sights were absolutely breathtaking and no one in his right mind wanted to miss it this year. The teens were absolutely enraptured in all the rides, especially the Tilt-a-Whirl, Tornado, and, of course, the Ferris Wheel. However, all good things must come to an end and the sky was growing darker. "Come on, guys, we'd better get going. We have a lot of training to do tomorrow on top of all the schoolwork we have piling up," Noel urged, which received a collective groan from the group.

"Come on, Noel, where's your sense of fun?" David asked. "Let's do just one more. How about the Fun House? It's really fun when it's dark out!" As one, they all gave Noel the puppy eyes look. All except Alice, that is. She merely stood back and smirked, waiting to see what his answer would be. He caught her out of the corner of his eye and heaved a deep sigh.

"Oh, all right," he conceded. "I guess it a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, but let's make this quick." The guys shouted in victory and dashed off in the direction of the Fun House. _'Like little children…'_ he couldn't help but think with a smirk.

"Well, come on," Alice said, grabbing his hand for the first time that day and dragging him along. "It's not often we get these breaks, and I for one am not missing a moment of it." He followed without saying a word, and when they arrived they found the other three waiting at the entrance impatiently.

The building itself was entirely one story, but it was big enough to take up two decent sized lots. The outside was painted like the walls of a castle, and the entrance was made to look like people were walking into the mouth of a great dragon. The exit, Noel presumed, was on the other side. The Fun House was set off a little ways from the actual Fair, so the surrounding area wasn't affected from all the lights from the other rides, and since clouds overhead had blotted out the stars and moon, it gave the attraction a menacing look and feel. Noel looked around to find that they were the only people there, aside from the silent guard taking tickets. A lone candle lamp hung from a stand, illuminating the guards face ever so slightly. He was dressed in a type of medieval armor, whether it was authentic or not Noel couldn't tell, but it was obvious he was dressing the part. "Well, this is a new theme," Noel whispered, as they walked up to the entrance. Without a single word, the guard looked over the passes they handed him and nodded them inwards.

Had they looked back, though, they would've seen him slink into the shadows…and disappear…

A/N: I think that's a good place to stop it for now. I'll have the next one out probably in the next day or so since I have my motivation back. This one was just a pain to write because I've come off of a high with the major battle scene two chapters ago; nothing just seems to amount to its equal. It's not as long as I would've liked it to be, either, but it's mainly set up for the next section. Anyways, I'll have the next one up soon so enjoy until then, and as always…READ AND REVIEW!


	24. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Well, I didn't get it out yesterday like I wanted to, but better late than never I guess. I get sidetracked way too easily, though…

Anyways, on with the show…

Chapter 19

As soon as David stepped through the threshold a metal door slammed down behind him, trapping the five teens into the carnival labyrinth. "Well, I guess there's no turning back now," Noel observed. "They take this stuff seriously."

They were in a long hallway, dimly lit by a pair of electric candles at the entrance that were set up to look like torches. Cautiously, Noel led the group forward, one hand in front of him so he wouldn't run into anything. He found it was unnecessary, though, because every few feet another pair of "torches" would light up. The air inside the building was thick and warm by the time they reached the large double doors at the end, and the silence was eerie. The silence was broken, however, as the same doors slid inwards on their own with a rusty old creak revealing a decent sized room. In it were three doors on the opposite side. "I'm assuming two of them are traps," Brett smirked.

"Well, Mister Wise Guy, how about you open one and find out?" Brad smirked in reply. Though trying to hide it, Brett was a little nervous. He knew it was kind of silly to be afraid of a few Fun House tricks, especially since he'd gone through a lot scarier things within the last few years, but the anticipation and anxiety grew as he reached for the doorknob on the far left. He pulled it back with a jerk…and a body fell out of it and almost on top of him! He jumped back in surprise, almost releasing an energy blast at the thing. The others just laughed at the sight.

"Oh…" David bellowed, practically rolling on the ground. "You should have seen your face! It…it was priceless!" He said between gasps of air. He went over and examined the "body." "Look, it's just a dummy! A really well done dummy, but a dummy nonetheless. Wow, it's so detailed! They did the wound and everything."

"Okay, David, your turn," Noel said, and David's laughter immediately died.

He pointed to himself and mouthed "me?"

"Yes, you. Show us how brave you are," he replied with a smirk of his own.

"Okay," he said nervously. "Since there are two doors, we'll do this the scientific way…eenie, meenie, miney, moe…" Brad promptly slapped him upside the head. "Sheesh, party pooper," he mumbled, rubbing the sore spot. He stepped up to the one in the middle, but it flew open on its own and a knight with a battle ax popped out, bringing its weapon down with an overhead swing. This time, though, an energy blast was thrown, scattering the empty suit of armor and sending the ax into the darkness.

"Smooth move, Sir David the Brave," Brett remarked.

"Hey, it had a weapon!" he defended lamely. "Gee, I hope we don't have to pay for that…"

"Don't worry, I'll take it up with the management. I'm sure they'll understand," Noel sighed, pulling open the door on the right. However, it was only an empty room about the size of a broom closet. "Huh, there must be a secret passage around here somewheeeerrrrrreeeee!" The floor underneath him collapsed as he fell into a hidden tunnel.

"Noel, you okay?" Brad shouted into the darkness.

"Yeah, I'm fine," came the reply a few moments later. "Come on, I see the stairs leading up to the next room. Whatever they were shooting for when they built this thing, they sure accomplished it."

"How far down is it?" David asked.

"I'd say about a twenty foot drop or so," Noel yelled back. "But there's some sort of air bag here to break the fall. Quite fun, actually."

"I bet," Brad muttered just loud enough so those around him could hear. "Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Banzai!" he shouted, doing a cannonball into the hole.

"Show off," David said, following closely behind. Brett was about to follow, but noticed Alice absently looking back into the room.

"Something wrong?" he asked, breaking her out of her train of thought.

"Huh? Oh, oh, no. I was just thinking…" she said. "Come on, we don't them to leave us." Without another word she quietly leapt into the darkness. Brett gave a shrug before doing the same.

If the teens had paid more attention, though, they would've noticed that the battle ax was very real and had flown and stuck into the ceiling near the opposite wall. And if they had examined the "dummy" further, they would've found that it was the real guard for the attraction, though he had been run through with a sharp sword of some sort…

OOO

"Man, we've been running around here for like an hour, and there seems to be no end in sight," Brad said.

"He's right," David said, looking at his watch in the dim glow of an electric torch. "I'm sorry to say, but if we don't find an exit soon I may have to make one."

"And I'm afraid I'll have to agree," Noel said. "It was fun at first, but this is getting ridiculous. Wait, look, up ahead." He pointed at the end of the hall they were currently in and saw that it split off into two passages.

"Two separate exits, maybe?" Brett asked.

"Either that or maybe they join back into one at the end," Alice said.

"Or maybe one is a dead end," Brad offered.

"Let's split up into two groups," Noel said. "Brett and David, you take the one on the left. Brad, Alice, and I will take the other one. If you reach a dead end, and there's not even an employee exit, then blast your way out. Just don't make too big a scene with it. I'll talk to the manager tomorrow about it."

"Noel, are you sure that's a good idea?" Alice asked. "I'm getting the creeps about this place, and I think we should stick together."

"She may be right, Noel. I'm getting the same feeling," Brett said. Noel thought about it for a minute, but shook his head.

"No, I think as long as we stay in a group of two or three we should be fine. If you do encounter a problem, though, flare up your power and get out of there as fast as you can," he answered.

Brett and Alice looked at him strangely, but sighed in resignation. "Okay, if you say so…" he sighed.

It was a few more minutes after they parted ways that Noel and the others reached another large room, this time filled with several rows of mirrors. "And what Fun House wouldn't be complete without the mirror maze?" Brad speculated with a sarcastic smirk. Eventually they made it through, but not without some comical mistakes and bumping into the mirrors several times.

"Whoever thought this place up should be drug out into the street and shot," Noel said, rubbing his head.

"Look, I think I see the exit!" Alice exclaimed. Sure enough, a long hallway with a doorway stood before them and they could feel the clean fresh air pouring in. "Does that mean that the other way was a dead end?" she asked worrisomely after they had made it out.

"I don't think so," Brad said. "I saw a slight divide in the hall. I think that they split off for that one room and then join back together again. That way people could go through a second time if they wanted and do the other path."

"Oh, sounds like fun," she replied with mock enthusiasm. "I can't see how people would want to endure that a second time. It constantly smelled like something died in there. It's going to take forever to get it out of my nose and clothes!"

"Hey, do you see the others?" Noel asked. "I wouldn't think that it would take them too long to get through."

"Well, we don't know what they encountered; let's give them a few more minutes," Brad said.

"Okay, but only five more and then I'm going back in there. It shouldn't be too hard to find them," he replied. They sat on the ground and waited a few minutes before Alice spoke up.

"Hey, guys, doesn't it seem awfully dark for some reason?" she asked.

"Well, it is night…" Brad started with a small jest before getting whacked upside the head.

"Funny," she replied, retracting her hand. "No, seriously, doesn't it seem darker than when we first entered."

"You know, she's right," Noel agreed, getting up and floating into the air. "Guys, check it out!" he shouted. "We didn't notice it before because we were on the other side of the Fun House, but everything's completely shut down!" They quickly joined him in the air and found he was correct. The fairgrounds had virtually turned into a ghost town.

"How long do you think we were in there?" Brad asked.

"Only about an hour and fifteen minutes," he replied. "But surely someone would've come and gotten us."

"I'm getting the creeps, you guys. Something is seriously wrong here," Alice stated fearfully.

"I don't feel the others' power levels either," Brad noted.

"Okay, that's it, five minutes or not we're getting the others and getting out of here," Noel stated forcefully.

"Now, now, 'heroes,'" a voice said out of nowhere. "I don't think that's necessary at all! Especially since your friends are safe with me!"

"What the…?" Noel barely had time to react before a black boot slammed into his head, sending him hurtling for the ground. He slid a few feet before recovering and hand-springing into a fighting stance. "Who are you?" Noel shouted. It was incredibly hard to see the attacker in the darkness, but two things stood out more than anything else: his long, silver hair and his eerie, glowing green eyes.

"Heh, heh, heh," the mystery man chuckled. "Now where would the fun be in that?" Noel floated up into the air again while Brad and Alice moved to opposite sides so they were surrounding the attacker. "Are you that eager to fight? Well as much as I would love to kill you now, I'd rather play a game."

"And what if we refuse?" Alice asked. "And what did you mean about our friends?"

"Ah, my dear, I'm not giving you a choice! Bolt 2!" A flash lit the area and the three teens barely had enough time to dodge as three lightning bolts headed for each of them. "And don't worry about your friends; you'll be joining them shortly," he said cryptically.

"You talk too much!" Noel shouted. "Fire…"

"Stop!" the man shouted and Noel ground to a screeching halt as a pink glow surrounded his body. His body began to fall, but Brad and Alice both were there in time to catch him

"What did you do to him?" Alice demanded.

"That should be the least of your worries," he said menacingly. "Dimensional Rift!" A small orb of energy formed in his palm, and the two teens braced themselves when he threw it. However, the ball slid underneath them and grew into a large blue hole, sucking them all in. "That was too easy," the mystery man smirked, before disappearing in the shadows of the night…

A/N: Okay, I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again: this chapter was a major pain in the butt to write. The dialogue felt dull, and it just wouldn't fall into place like I wanted it to. Overall, definitely not one of my better works, but it's done and over with now so it should pick up again. However, you've put up with it in the past, and it seemed to turn out okay, so I'm hoping you can put up with one more and it'll do the same.

I wanted to reveal the villain in this one, but I felt leaving clues was a better course of action instead. I think I left enough that you can figure it out, but he'll definitely be revealed next chapter. Don't know when that'll be out, but I'll try for sometime within this next week even though I have a block class. Catch ya later, and as always…READ AND REVIEW!


	25. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot.

A/N: I've said it before, but I'll say it again: updates will come slow since I have limited Internet access and because of the hassles of life. I could try and list everything, but I'm sure you want to get to the chapter. However, I'm afraid that updates will at least be once a month during the summer. I'll try and do more, but I will definitely promise once a month. If you haven't put me on your alerts page yet, I highly recommend it so you know when I finally do post.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I don't know if there'll be any action in this one, but I'll try to keep it interesting. If nothing else, this is the arc that I really look forward to writing. But if it seems random at some points, it's probably because it is. In short, it's because the realms I use are some of my favorites and I just want to blend them together. This chapter officially begins the major portion of the crossover genre, so forgive me Zelda fans for steering away from the beginning. However, I'll try and keep as many of those elements as I can, and it will swing full circle again eventually.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story and I promise I'll do my best.

Chapter 20

Seconds felt like hours as they dropped through the gateway. Normally traveling through a portal would've been an easy trip, but the space/time continuum seemed to have been disturbed somehow. The trip usually only lasted a couple of seconds to complete, but this time it seemed to take forever. And usually the surrounding atmosphere would be like flying through clear skies with a gentle breeze, but now it was like battling through a very turbulent storm, with lightning-like strikes all around them.

Finally, though, there was a bright light and they were roughly dropped onto a hard surface, presumably concrete. More specifically, though, it was a narrow strip of road. "Where are we?" Alice asked, dusting herself off. "And where's Noel?"

"I've got him," Brad answered, kneeling by the still form of Noel. His eyes were open, but there seemed to be no response to anything the two would do to him. "It's strange," Brad finally said. "He has all the symptoms of being dead, even his vitals have stopped, but he still has his color."

"And what's with the strange pink glow?" she asked. She stopped and looked around. "Uh, Brad, is it just me or did that portal drop us back at the school?"

"I…don't know," he said slowly, taking it all in as well as keeping an eye on Noel. "It seems that way, but keep your guard up; some realms are separated by only minor differences." Fortunately, they had landed in the alleyway behind the school, where a few houses shielded them directly from the street. Unless somebody had been looking out the window at time or a car happened to drive by at just the right moment, then nobody had seen them drop out of the portal. The way around one corner led to the front of the building, while the other led to where several school buses were parked. In the middle of the alley was a large brown dumpster next to the backdoor leading into the gym. Looking behind him, Brad was relieved to find that if they had landed a couple more feet over they would've landed in front of a window that looked into the cafeteria in the basement. Sneaking a quick peak, he found that it, too, was empty. "Let's lean him up against the wall for now, and I'll take a look around. Put him up behind the dumpster so nobody will see you two."

"And if they do?" she asked.

"Pray that they don't get any wrong ideas," he smirked, before taking off around the corner to the front of the building to avoid Alice smacking him.

He peeked around to make sure she wasn't going to pursue him before looking at the area. Sure enough, the mystery man had landed them at the school that Noel and he had attended for so many years. The building itself was made up of orange brick, and it co-joined the Baptist church that all three of them attended. The church had been given the nickname "the Airplane Church" because of the slanted rooftops on both sides of the building that gave it the appearance of a stealth jet fighter. Where the two sides met at the top was a fairly large steeple, though not by any means the tallest he had seen. On the front of the building, facing the street was a cross that lit up at night. Looking out onto the decent sized parking lot, Brad noticed only a few cars parked out there. _'So there are people here,'_ he thought, casually walking along the side of the building. If anything, he did not want to draw any more attention than necessary. _'They seem to be close to the gym, so something is probably going on in there.'_ Suddenly, a disturbing thought hit him. _'Oh, great! If somebody throws something in the dumpster from the backdoor, they're bound to spot Alice and Noel!'_ Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed back to the others.

OOO

"Would you stop and listen to me for a moment?" a teenage boy said as he followed behind a girl his age. "Just wait!"

"No! Go away!" the girl shouted back at him, as she turned the corner. "I don't want to talk to you!"

"Why not?" he pursued. She weaved in between the buses to try and shake him, and as she rounded the corner into the alley, put on an extra burst of speed. "Just stop!" he shouted, catching up and putting his hand on her shoulder. She jerked around violently and gave him a death glare that would've made the most courageous of men cower in fear.

"Now listen here," she said, sticking her finger in his face. "Stop stalking me! I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to see you, and I don't want to have anything to do with…" Her voice trailed off as movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Though her first thought was to ignore it and move on, something about the figure hiding behind the brown dumpster made her curious. Slowly, the boy caught on and also turned to see what she was staring at. She pushed by him and went to investigate, and promptly threw another death glare at the boy when he tried to stop her.

Though the figure tried to edge out of view, the girl easily slipped around the dumpster and what she saw took her breath away. It was as if she was looking at a mirror image of herself…and in her arms was a mirror image of the boy that was following her. Curious, the boy looked over her shoulder and his jaw dropped. Seeing how this couldn't get any more awkward, Alice decided to be the first to speak up. "You're probably wondering who we are, aren't you?" she asked, propping Noel against the nearby wall and standing up to see eye-to-eye with the two teens. Dumbly, they nodded. "Well, I…um…don't exactly know how to put it…" Before she could get any further, though, another voice was heard.

"Alice! Get Noel and let's get out of here before…somebody…spots…us…oh, crud," Brad groaned as he turned the corner to find the three teens together.

_'Smooth, Brad, real smooth,'_ she thought.

"Brandon? You know her?" the boy asked.

"Actually, his name is Brad Washings," Alice replied. "I'm Alice Smithers, and he's Noel Rivers," she finished, pointing to Noel's unmoving body.

"What's wrong with him?" the girl asked.

"Long story," Alice replied. "To be perfectly honest, we don't know either." Without another word, the boy knelt down to examine Noel.

"He's 'Stopped'," the boy simply said.

"Well, duh," the girl replied sarcastically and nastily. "He's not moving. Usually when you die, you're pretty much stopped." Suddenly she put a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry," she said, turning to Alice and Brad. "I didn't mean it like that…"

"No, it's okay," Brad spoke up. "We thought he was dead at first, but it wouldn't make any sense." The boy shook his head, annoyed.

"I'm telling you, he's 'Stopped,'" he said again.

"What are you babbling about?" the girl asked as nastily as before.

"See the pink glow?" he explained. "It's a status condition. He must've been hit by some sort of Time magic."

"Forgive him," she said, turning to Alice and Brad once more. "He's a bit of a doofus."

"How do you know that's what it is," Alice asked the boy, ignoring the girl's comment.

"I play a lot of video games," the boy said simply, though with a nervous, almost embarrassed, smile. "It's from the Final Fantasy line. Anyway, how long has he been like this?"

"Well, let me see," Alice said, mentally recalling the battle and looking at her watch. "I'm guessing about ten minutes or so."

"Then he should be coming out of it right…about…now!" the boy said, looking at his own watch. True to form, the pink glow faded and Noel jumped with a start. He breathed heavily and then looked around to find everybody staring at him.

"Okay, would somebody mind filling me in on what just happened?" Noel asked, confused.

"I think you guys had better start from the beginning," the girl said. "This is really starting to creep me out."

"Before we do that, can we at least get your names? We've given you ours," Brad said.

"My name is Nathan Raven, and this is Alison Harper," Nathan introduced, and promptly received a sharp slap to the shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "How do you know we can even trust them?"

"Oh, come on," the boy argued back. "They're basically our twins, although I don't know if I can handle another one of you." She was about to slap him again, this time in the face, but Noel quickly stepped in instead.

"Okay, I think it's time to break this up," he said, coming between the two. He leaned close to Nathan's ear. "If you want to stay alive, I suggest you keep comments like that to yourself. You're insulting Alice as well, and I can guarantee you that she'll skin you alive," he whispered, but obviously not quiet enough as she soon backhanded him.

OOO

"…And that's basically it," Noel said.

"So you got here by a portal from a parallel universe," Nathan said excitedly. "Sweet!" Alison, on the other hand, didn't seem so enthusiastic about all this.

"So let me get this straight," she said. "You pulled up this mystic sword, are trying to defeat some video game character from conquering every universe in existence, had a battle with some mysterious guy, and then ended up here?"

"That's about it in a nutshell," he answered.

"It just seems to be a little hard to swallow," she answered, sitting back against the pew. They had decided that being outdoors was too out in the open and moved to the balcony of the auditorium, with Alice and Brad watching the two stairwells leading to it. "If you weren't our twins I might not believe it at all."

"You know, I've always wondered how hard it would've been to convince you if your memory had been erased," Noel said to Alice, who was guarding the closer stairwell, and she sent a cold look and shrug in response.

"Someone's coming!" Brad quickly whispered, darting over and sitting next to Nathan. Alison and Noel quickly dove underneath the pew and scrambled as far out of sight as they could while Alice slipped around the corner and into the shadows.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Alison harshly whispered.

"Because it was the only combination of people that wouldn't draw unnecessary attention," Noel explained. "If it had been you and Alice or me and Nathan…well, I think that explains itself. And if it had been you and me, you and Nathan, Nathan and Alice, Brad and you, or Alice and me…again, I think that would draw especially unneeded attention and questions. Brad and I couldn't have worked because we have no idea who anybody here is, so that leaves Brad and Nathan. Nathan can cover for Brad, so as long as Brad's twin doesn't show up we're dandy, got it?"

"And if we get caught?" she asked.

"We're screwed," he said plainly, eliciting a long, albeit silent, sigh from her.

OOO

"Well, it was nice of Alison to give us some of their camping equipment," Noel said, as he and Brad set up a couple of tents while Alice started a fire. "It's nice to know there's at least one similarity between your families." After the group had finished talking at the church, Alison and Nathan went home with their respective parents, but Noel and the others had to wait until night had fallen to make a move. Alison had agreed to gather up some camping gear that her family used for trips, but the tricky part was getting it to the others. Fortunately for the group, the layout of the land was still the same so there was no confusion on where to go and Noel and Nathan both agreed that the woods nearest to his house, the same woods Noel had stayed in in his realm early on, would be the best place to set up camp.

"Yeah, and we lucked out, too," Alice agreed. "Though it was sunny during the day, the cloud cover that rolled in later let us fly virtually undetected. Hope it doesn't rain, though…"

"Nah," Noel shrugged. "I stayed outdoors enough to know when it there was a possibility, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt…" There was a flash of lightning and a loud crash of thunder. "…that we should get inside the tents," he finished sheepishly.

"My boyfriend, the great woodsman," she stated sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Brad, though, had quietly sat on a nearby log, ignoring both the thunder and Noel and Alice's exchange.

"Hey, you okay?" Noel asked when he finally noticed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just wondering how we were going to get back to our world, and where the others were," he answered.

"I wonder what our own families are doing? And Will and the others?" Alice added. "Can't we use the Master Sword like before?" Silently, Noel unsheathed the mystical blade and looked at it.

"Normally I'd say yes," he started, "but something, or someone, is interfering with its power. As it stands right now, using it would most likely get us even more lost." There was an awkward silence as he put it away. "However, we do still need to find Brett and David. Strange that we can't sense their energy, though…"

"Now, now, Noel," a wicked voice cackled, seemingly from all around them. "Where would all the fun be if you could find them so easily?"

"Who's there?" Noel demanded. "Show yourself!"

"Ah, how quickly we forget," the voice laughed, as a figure stepped out into the light of the campfire, dimly illuminating his features. Suddenly, a burst of lightning shed even more light on the stranger's identity, though it was for just a moment.

"You!" Brad growled, taking to a fighting stance. The silver-haired stranger didn't seem to notice, as his eerie green eyes were still transfixed on Noel. "This time things will turn out differently."

"Please," the stranger scoffed, "you haven't grown any since I defeated you yesterday. As it stands, I could easily wipe you off the face of the planet." He reached for his sword attached to the belt on his waist, and they all tensed. "But where would be the fun in that?" he smirked, removing his hand. "I know where your friends are, and let's say I have a little wager for you."

"A wager?" Alice questioned aloud.

"And why should we trust you?" Noel followed up.

"Because their lives are in my hands," the stranger said with a deadly serious tone. "You have two weeks to get stronger. Don't worry about your friends; they won't be harmed. At least, right now they won't."

"You arrogant…" Brad started.

"Ah, ah, ah," the stranger reprimanded, wagging a gloved finger, "name-calling won't do you any good." He smirked an evil smirk. "Two weeks. If you die, so do they. If you win, then you get them back and you can all go home." He turned to walk away, but Noel spoke up again.

"Wait, how do we find you?" he asked.

"Oh don't worry, I'll find you," he answered cryptically before cackling and leaping into the tree branches.

A moment passed as the group pondered what to do when suddenly there was a slight movement in the brush behind them. Though they expected a surprise attack, they were relieved when Nathan floundered into the open. His brow was covered with sweat, and his face was pale, as though he had seen a ghost. "I…I…I…can't…believe it," he stammered.

"Nathan, come on, what's wrong?" Noel prodded, trying to bring the boy out of the semi-shock state.

"It's…him…" he babbled on. "Not…him. Anybody…but him!"

"Nathan, what?" Alice jumped in. "Who's 'him?' Do you know that guy? Who was he?"

Nathan looked each of them straight in the eyes before uttering one word. "S…S…Sephiroth."

A/N: Finally, this chapter is ready to go! Though I don't like waiting this long, I find that I get some interesting ideas the longer I wait. And I finally revealed the enemy! For those of you who don't know who Sephiroth is (really, though, shame on you), his "origins" will be revealed next chapter. The next two or three chapters are going to get really interesting (I hope) so stay tuned.

Like usual, this chapter was hard to write. The dialogue wasn't particularly challenging, but it was Nathan and Alison's personalities I was having trouble working on. Those two hit closer to home than any of the other OC's, and I'm trying not to be biased one way or another. I'd really like some feedback on those two, and tell me what impression you would get as if you were meeting them for the first time.

I didn't do as great a job on the school/church description as I wanted to. You'd think that after twenty one years of being there I would be able to rattle it off like I knew the back of my hand, but it's just hard to describe. I'm going to try and get a picture up on my homepage if you want to see what it looks like. If nothing else, ask me for a picture in a review and I'll send you the link address to the site where it definitely is.


	26. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Not really a whole lot to say here. It's more dialogue than action in this chapter (again), but the next couple of chapters will get more interesting, I promise. A warning, though: this arc might have several spoilers from whatever I use, so if you haven't played that particular game or watched that particular show, you read at your own risk.

With that said, on with the show.

Chapter 21

"Who's Sephiroth?" Alice asked, once they had gotten Nathan calmed down. He took a deep breath as he looked into the campfire. By now, the storm clouds overhead had started to dissipate and the stars were coming out, but that didn't clear up anybody's mood.

"Sephiroth originates from Final Fantasy Seven, much like Ganondorf is from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," Nathan started.

"I'm assuming these are both video games in this world," Noel spoke up.

"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "I'm assuming you either don't have them in your realm, or else you don't play them. In any case, I can tell that your knowledge of the plots are limited."

"I only know what the Sages have told me," Noel answered.

"Which is enough, so I won't waste any time on that," he responded. "Anyways, Sephiroth is quite possibly the strongest villain to ever hit the role-playing game world. Actually, probably the video game world as a whole; he could even be more powerful than Ganondorf himself!"

"I highly doubt that," Brad countered. "You've never had to face up against him."

"And you've never had to battle Sephiroth in a boss battle. I've done it with both, and I can safely say that Sephiroth wins that vote," Nathan argued back. "However, this isn't the video game world we're talking about, so it doesn't matter. Since Ganondorf has the Triforce of Power, then realistically he's more powerful, I'll concede that."

"So what's his story?" Alice inquired.

"Well, simply put, in his world there was this extremely powerful company called Shinra," Nathan started. "They controlled pretty much everything, including the army and basically the world itself. Within the army was a special segment called SOLDIER, and Sephiroth grew to be known as the greatest General ever."

"But, of course, things take a turn for the worse," Brad entered in. Nathan merely nodded.

"While out on a mission, Sephiroth, with a couple of normal soldiers and another from SOLDIER itself, went to investigate a malfunctioning Mako reactor. Mako reactors sucked Mako, or the Lifestream as some would call it, out of the planet. Mako was useful as an energy source or to make materia out of. Materia is what's used to cast spells, like Stop, but I'm digressing. All in all, though, the reactors were hurting the planet by sucking out its life force."

"What does this have to do with the mission?" Noel asked impatiently.

"Did you see how Sephiroth's eyes glowed an eerie green?" Nathan asked, and they all nodded. "It's because everybody in SOLDIER is showered with varying amounts of Mako energy. All in all, it increases their strength and abilities. Anyway, when they got to the reactor they found monsters being created within the pure vats of Mako. They were experiments created by Shinra."

"You mean people that were placed in there?" Alice asked, horrified.

"I'm guessing so, but there's more to it than that. Sephiroth found a room that was marked 'Jenova.' Apparently he had been told that his mother had the same name, and he began to wonder if he was an experiment, especially since he had unusual amounts of power," Nathan replied. "The reactor was at the top of a mountain, and at the base of the mountain was a town called Nibelheim, with Shinra Mansion near the edge of town. In the secret basement was a large library, and eventually what Sephiroth learned through the books down there drove him insane. He burned the town, killing all the townspeople."

"How was he stopped?" Brad asked.

"Simply put, he let down his guard too soon and one of his own teammates managed to kill him. Granted, it's more complicated than that, but I don't want to give away the plot line," he gave a slight smirk, but was promptly batted over the head by Noel.

"Stop playing games," Noel said harshly. "If he died there, then where does this guy come in?"

"Years later Sephiroth showed up again," Nathan explained, rubbing the back of his head. "Actually, I should say a clone of Sephiroth showed up later. Hojo, the main scientist at Shinra, had secretly experimented on making more Sephiroths while Sephiroth was alive. I don't know all the details, but one was a success, and showed up a few years after the whole reactor incident, and went about trying to start what was called the 'Reunion.' This was where all the clones were to meet in one central spot. Here's where it gets confusing, though. During the Reunion, one of the main characters, under mind control, gives Sephiroth a powerful artifact known as the Black Materia. It summons Meteor, which is supposedly the most powerful spell ever."

"So Sephiroth has that ability right now?" Alice asked worriedly. "It sounds pretty bad."

"Actually, I'm not so sure he does have it," Nathan stated, drawing confused looks from them. "You see, the Sephiroth that actually gets the materia was imbedded in some sort of crystal, probably materia itself. I think the materia went to the real Sephiroth and the clone faded into the background somewhere along the line since his job was done. Of course, I could be wrong, and I'm sure there are those that disagree with me on that."

"But how's that possible?" Brad asked.

"And where does that leave us?" Alice added.

"Sephiroth's essence was sent back to the Lifestream, as is all living things in that world," Nathan explained. "Since the Reunion was held in a place with a high concentration of Lifestream, it's not impossible that his essence showed up in a physical form."

"What you're telling us is that you're not sure if this is the real deal or simply a clone," Noel said.

"In a nutshell," Nathan sighed. "It would all depend on when Ganondorf took him. If it's the clone and after the Black Materia incident, then he wouldn't be missed one way or another because his mission's complete. If it's the real Sephiroth or before the incident, then he could've taken him at any time."

"Either way, though, it doesn't matter. We have to send him back to his Realm of Origin to maintain the balance," Noel stated.

"Well, I hate to say it, but it's getting late and I'd better get back home before I have to deal with a force scarier than Sephiroth," Nathan stated, getting up from the log he was sitting on and dusting himself off.

"And what's that?" Brad asked.

"My mom," he said, eliciting a snicker from the group.

"It's nice to know my mother still evokes fear even in this realm," Noel smirked.

"Five feet of fury," Nathan replied. They laughed for a few moments longer before Alice spoke up.

"Speaking of which, why did you come here to begin with?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot!" he said, digging into the backpack he had been carrying. "It took me a bit, but I scrounged up some food for you guys. It's not much, but it's all I could sneak out." He pulled out a small plastic bag that had several food items in it.

"Don't worry," Noel said, gratefully taking the items. "If worse comes to worse, Brad and I know how to hunt."

"So what now?" Brad asked after the goodbyes were said and Alice went to put the food away.

"We'll start training tomorrow," Noel replied, stoking the fire a bit. "Right now, though, get some rest. We'll take turns on watch, and I'll take the first one."

OOO

Noel had just closed his eyes when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Instinctively, he turned and prepared to attack only to find Brad standing there. "What are you still doing up?" Brad asked, a little weary from sleep deprivation. "I thought Alice was going to take over for you."

"I decided to let her sleep," he said, offering Brad a seat. "I can take being up a few more hours."

"Man, I swear you're going to kill yourself one of these days doing stuff like this," he scoffed in resignation. Noel merely chuckled.

"Relax, I'm not going anywhere just yet. I've still got too much to do," he answered. There was an awkward silence.

"When do you think we'll get home?" Brad finally asked, looking up to the stars. "I'm sure Will and the others are going crazy trying to find us, and there's no telling what Ganondorf is planning."

"Tom's still there to protect the realm, and as long as we're here Ganondorf will be focused on making sure we don't get home, so he should be fine on his own for a while," Noel answered. "To tell you the truth, though, this is all my fault…"

"Oh come on, Noel," Brad cut in. "Give it a rest. There's no way you could've seen this coming."

"Maybe," Noel said, still not convinced. "I had a couple of visions of Sephiroth, and when we traveled to Hyrule before our battle I felt the disturbance with the portal. It wasn't Saria's or Will's fault that messed us up. Something was interfering long before now. It just took us this long to notice it."

"Well, whatever," Brad said, changing the subject. "The point is, we're here now. Go ahead and get some sleep for a couple of hours. If we're going to be training, we'll all have to be at one hundred percent."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he finally conceded, tossing his stick into the fire.

OOO

"How are you feeling?" Brad asked Noel a few hours later as he emerged from their tent.

"Like I got hit by a truck," he replied groggily, taking a seat next to him. He noted through the trees that the sun was well over the horizon, probably close to the nine o'clock position. "Alice up yet?"

"Not yet," he answered. "When do you want to start the training?"

"We need to start as soon as possible," he replied, but a low rumbling noise broke through his thoughts. "But a little breakfast wouldn't hurt, either," he grinned sheepishly. "I'll go get Alice."

"I'll put some of the supplies on the fire," Brad said, reaching into the nearby food sack Nathan had brought the night before.

Noel quietly unzipped the flap of Alice's tent and peeked inside. Seeing that she was still curled up in her sleeping bag, he gently stepped inside and sat next to her. "Alice," he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a slight shake. She rolled over to face him, but didn't wake up. "Alice," he tried again, this time a little louder.

"What?" she mumbled, propping herself up on her arm and rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

"It's time to get up," he said gently, softly moving some stray hair away from her face. "Brad's got breakfast on the fire."

"Okay, okay, I'll be there in a minute," she grumbled, plopping back down on her pillow and closing her eyes. A minute later, when she hadn't sensed any movement, she opened an eye to find Noel still sitting there, staring at her with a small grin. "What?" she asked, with a twinge of ice in her voice as she sat up again.

"Huh?" he asked, snapping out of his thought. "Oh…sorry," he apologized. "I was…I was just admiring how beautiful you are when you're asleep," he said, thinking it was probably the cheesiest thing he had ever said. He leaned in to give her a kiss, but she turned her head to the side so he only hit the cheek. "Alice, is something wrong?" he asked.

"Why would you think something's wrong?" she asked with more ice in her voice this time, mixed with a little bit of sarcasm, and thereby putting him on the defensive.

It's just…it's just we haven't really been that close lately. We don't talk as much as we used to," he replied sadly.

"Don't worry about it," she said, forcing a bit of gentleness into her voice as well as a small smile. "Everything's fine." There was a small pause before Noel released a sigh.

"Okay, if you say so," he conceded, unconvinced. "Don't take too much longer, though. We need to train as much as possible, so we need to get started as soon as we can," he said, scooting to the exit. She bristled as she heard him say that, but he didn't notice because his back was to her. She didn't say a word, though, as he left the tent and zipped the flap back up.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes again before reaching into a backpack Alison had given her and pulled out a hairbrush. After brushing her shoulder-length, sleep-ruffled brunette hair, she straightened her clothes the best she could before heading out. "I've been thinking," she said casually, taking a seat across from Noel. "These are the only sets of clothes we have. What'll we wear if we tear these up?"

"She has a point," Brad agreed. "Usually Kara either fixes them or gives us special training outfits."

"Hmmm…I don't really know," Noel responded, thinking the situation through. "We could buy them as we go, but we'd have to ask Nathan or Alison what the currency is here. It may be the same as our world, but they'd have to confirm it. I say we just play it by ear for now."

"And if we don't have the right money?" Alice asked.

"Either we take some time to work for it, or else we'll have to think up something different," he said simply.

"On a different note, what about the training?" Brad asked. "If we go all out, we could seriously hurt each other, and two weeks isn't that much time to heal."

"Do you guys have your emergency canisters?" Noel asked, and they nodded in response. "We'll have to ration those then. Even just a little bit will repair some of the damage after a session."

"What about the battle?" Alice asked, worried. "What if we need them?"

"That's a risk we'll just have to take," Noel said, though the look on his face said he didn't like it. "Anyways," he said, rising from his seat, "we need to take care of the clothing issue and where we're going to train. Brad, see if you can find Nathan and ask about the clothes. I'll scout around for a spot that won't be easily noticed."

"I guess that leaves me with cleanup here," Alice sighed.

"Sorry, but we can take turns after this," he promised. "We'll meet back here in an hour, okay?" The others nodded as they set off to their tasks.

It was almost a literal hop, skip, and jump away for Brad to reach Nathan's house from the woods. He simply hopped out of the woods and across the small park, skipped over the back corner of a neighbor's backyard, and jumped into the lot adjacent to Nathan's one-story house. He heard the sound of a car starting in the driveway and he sidled up behind the bushes and between the brown wooden fence, just so he was out of view of whoever was pulling out. As he peeked through, he caught a quick glimpse of Nathan in the passenger seat and tried a quick movement to catch his attention. Fortunately, he noticed and made a steeple-like gesture with his hands while making darting glances between them and Brad. _'Steeple?'_ he thought. _'The church?'_ He nodded in response before ducking back into the bushes. Suddenly, he heard a car door slam and he ventured another look as Nathan's mom dashed back into the house. Quickly and quietly, Brad slinked over to the passenger side as Nathan slid the window down.

"What's up?" Nathan asked. "You'd better make it fast; my mom's going to be coming back out any second."

"That's fine," he replied, pulling out his a bill from his wallet. "Do you guys use this type of money?" Nathan looked the bill over before pretending to put it in his pocket.

"I don't know, I don't think we do," he said in mock innocence. Brad's joking glare and outstretched hand made the boy return the bill in fake offense.

"Thanks, that's all I needed to know," Brad said, starting to slip back into the bushes.

"I'll be by again tonight if I can slip away and give you guys an update," Nathan whispered, and Brad nodded as he took off again.

Brad arrived at the campsite just as Alice was finishing cleaning up. "We all set to go?" Alice asked.

"Yeah," Brad replied. "We can use the money we have on us. If you want, you can go on ahead. I'll wait for Noel here and we'll join you as soon as we can."

"Okay, that's fine," she agreed. "Oh, by the way, I think it would be a little less conspicuous if we jogged to the store rather than flew while we're out in broad daylight, don't you agree." Brad nodded in agreement as she took off and said he'd tell Noel too.

OOO

"Oh, that looks good," Alice said to herself, looking in a nearby mirror and admiring a shirt she was holding up against herself. She had decided to use her current clothes as her training clothes, and use this trip to buy some of the new fashions to take home, assuming they got home, of course. Of course, she would still buy a few things to replace her training clothes in case they got torn up, but she had found some styles they didn't have back home and she couldn't resist a chance to shop.

Her joyous mood didn't last long, though, when she heard a semi-familiar voice behind her. "Oh, Alison, there you are. I have a couple more dresses for you to try on," the voice said, getting closer with each word. Alice prayed silently that it wasn't directed at her, but she could see in the mirror the lady that looked like her own mother approaching her. Trying to play it cool, she slowing turned and acted like she would with her own mother. "Dear," she beat her to the punch, "weren't you wearing a skirt when we came in here?"

'_Oh crap,'_ Alice thought. _'How do I explain this away? This can't get any more awkward.'_ Suddenly, though, another voice made itself known from the nearby dressing room.

"Mom, what do you think of…this…blouse…uh, oh," Alison said, realizing too late what was happening as she casually walked out of the room and spotted her mom and Alice together. Mrs. Harper glanced from girl to girl and was about to let a tremendous shriek, but both Alison and Alice simultaneously slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Let's not do that," Alice whispered, quickly glancing around to see if anybody was watching. "I'd rather not draw more attention to us than necessary." Quietly, she and Alison gently pulled her into the dressing room and into one of the stalls. Alice quickly checked the only other stall in the room on her way by, and was relieved to find it empty. "If we promise to remove our hands and explain, will you promise not to scream?" she asked, shutting and bolting the door behind them. Mrs. Harper quickly nodded, but the apparent look of fear and confusion still hadn't left her face.

"Well, at least this can't get any worse," Alison whispered.

"Alice, are you in there?" came a voice from outside. Alice gave her twin the you-just-had-to-say-it-didn't-you look before opening the door again and pulling the now confused Noel inside.

"What's going…oh, boy," he said, instantly noticing Alison and her mother.

"Perfect timing," Alice said sarcastically. "Since you're here, you can explain why Alison has a twin."

"Nathan, you're in on all this, too?" Mrs. Harper asked incredulously. He heaved a long sigh as he quickly went into the same story he gave Nathan and Alison. He had rehearsed it so many times that it was like clockwork for him now.

"…And that's about it," he finished. "Did I miss anything?" he asked through the door to Alice, who was keeping watch.

"Nope, sounds good," she agreed.

"Well, that explains what happened to the camping equipment," Mrs. Harper said, turning to her daughter. "Why didn't you just tell us in the first place?"

"Would you honestly have believed me?" Alison retorted calmly. "I wouldn't believe it myself if they weren't standing in front of my face."

"Point taken," she conceded. "So now what?" Noel simply shrugged.

"We keep doing what we've been doing. Alice and I are going to finish shopping and meet up with our friend, and I guess you two are going to finish whatever you were doing," he answered.

"Are you still going to sleep in the woods? There's more than enough room in our house to sleep. And what about Nathan's mom? I'm sure she would like to know about all this," Mrs. Harper stated.

"Yes. No thank you. No. And I'd like to keep this as low profile as I can. The less people know about parallel universes, the less work I have trying to keep everybody in their Realm of Origin. I'm sorry I'm being blunt about this, but we really are on a tight schedule," he explained, heading out to meet up with Alice. They took a couple of steps together, but then he stopped and thought about it for a minute. "Actually," he said, looking at Alice and then back at Mrs. Harper. "Alice, do you want to stay with them? Brad and I can rough it, and it would give you a break. Granted, we'd have to explain it to the rest of the family, but I've done it once so I think I can pull it off again." Alice looked at him strangely for a minute, a loss for what to say.

"Uh…sure, I guess," she replied slowly, still thinking it through. "If that's all right with you, that is," she quickly added to Mrs. Harper.

"I can't see why not," she replied sweetly. Noel nodded in agreement.

"I still haven't found a good spot to train yet so I'll go back out once I'm done here. We'll get re-settled and meet back at the campsite in about two hours, okay?" he asked Alice, and she agreed.

A/N: I know I promised some action in this, but the dialogue just wouldn't shut up on me. I eventually got so sick of this chapter that I ended it where I did, even though I don't really like it. Oh well, that's the way the ball bounces, I guess.

I wanted to at least start the battle in this chapter, but I'm afraid I have to put the training and the first part of the battle in the next. I've been working these out in my head, though, and I promise that they should be doozies. In honesty, this battle and the final battle, and one other one are the three fights that I'm most looking forward to. Ganondorf's battle in the last arc was nice, but it was really unexpected in how it turned out. If that one came out that well, I believe that these will be able to easily rival it. (I have to be careful when I say that. I don't want to raise any false hopes, but if I can get what's in my head down on paper accurately, then I do think these should be pretty good.)


	27. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot.

A/N: From everything I said, one would think this chapter would be easy to write. In truth it was, but I just couldn't find the motivation with school coming up and all. I did want to get it out before I go back, but even that didn't go as planned. All in all, I missed my monthly deadline and my deadline for yesterday so I really worked hard today to make sure to get it out, and I am deeply sorry about all this.

Even though this is coming out much later than I would have liked, I put my heart into it so enjoy.

Chapter 22

"Okay," Noel said, hunched over a map laid out on a stump. "There's some nice countryside northwest of here, about two hundred miles out. It should be about an hour's flight if we go all out, but we'll have to stay low and away from the roads so we're not seen."

"This is getting tedious, all this hiding around," Brad said.

"I know, but do you have a better idea?" Noel responded.

"No, I guess not," he replied. "We'll have to be careful, though."

"We'll stay within this region while training, and then come back here during the nights. As long as nobody sees us we should be able to stay under the radar long enough," Noel said.

"What about this training regimen? What exactly are you planning?" Alice asked.

"We'll start with every person for himself, then we'll switch to two on one, and then we'll go one on one while the third person sits out," he explained.

"Are we going to draw straws for the first rest?" Brad asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," Noel said with a smirk. He reached down to pick up three leaves off the nearest weed and clipped one of them in half. He turned his back to his friends, mixed them up, and turned back so Brad and Alice could draw. "Looks like Alice gets the first rest," Noel said, looking at their leaves. "Now that that's settled, let's get going."

OOO

"Kiyah!" Noel shouted, using his leg to block Brad's kick, all the while throwing a punch, which Alice blocked with her open palm. They were in a three way stalemate until all three powered up at the same time, blowing each other away.

Noel made the first charge at Brad with a frontal semi-circle kick, which Brad ducked under, only to meet Alice's fist into his face. He began to plummet towards the earth, but quickly recovered and turned it into a backwards flip. He noticed as he wiped the blood oozing from his lower lip that Noel and Alice were both making a charge towards him, and he replied with a battle stance. Noel surprised him, though, by dropping back behind Alice and launching an energy beam into her back, sending the shocked girl careening into the unprepared Brad and deep into the ground.

"Payback time?" Alice asked Brad, as they picked themselves out of the dirt.

"Oh, yeah!" he agreed, and they both rocketed out of the hole with equal fury.

"Uh oh," Noel muttered as he hovered, realizing the mistake he'd made and taking up a strong stance. _'Note to self, don't do something stupid that'll make them shift to two-on-one early,'_ he thought, after blocking a kick from Brad, an overhead hammer punch from Alice, and another follow-up punch from Brad, before taking a sweeping kick in the air from Alice, which knocked him off balance, and then a follow-up flip kick, sending him crashing into the dirt. He rolled away just as Alice was about to finish the combo, and her knee landed where he had been just seconds before. _'Okay, that would've hurt,'_ he thought, noticing the ground around the impact point cracked and cratered a little. "I take it we've officially moved to the two-on-one section," Noel said with a smirk. Alice said nothing, but Brad replied with a smirk of his own, as they both tightened their stances. They were all breathing pretty heavily.

Brad skimmed across the ground and threw a punch, but Noel flipped over him, planted both hands on the top of his head, and used him like a springboard. He had anticipated Alice attacking him as well, so he pushed himself a little higher with his energy, finished the flip, and pushed down as his feet came in contact with her back, causing her to crash into Brad yet again. Noel stood there for a brief second as he gathered energy into his hands before jumping up and releasing an energy beam back into the hole.

He landed a couple feet from the hole and smiled as the now-smoking teens rose from it. They had been training for almost a week now, going back and forth from the campsite to the training site. He could vouch for how strong they all had become in that short amount of time. There was no way they would've been able to withstand an attack like that and still have the energy to move if they had taken it a week ago.

His musings were cut short, however, as Alice plowed into him with a left hook to his face. He was surprised by the speed, but the viciousness of the attack was what really caught him off guard. As he slid across the ground, he noticed that it had caught Brad off guard as well. Noel arched backwards a little and used the momentum to bring himself to one knee, crossing his arms in front of him to block a second punch. His whole body quaked from the blow, and he leapt back and dodged anymore that came. He noted that although the punches were powerful, they were becoming increasingly sloppy. The look in her eyes as she attacked chilled him to the bone. _'She's ticked about something,'_ he thought. _'I think it's time to end this.' _

He caught the next punch with one hand, and moved himself so he was pulling it behind her back, where he grabbed her other arm and pulled it back as well. She struggled to get loose, but every movement felt like fire as her arms felt like they would pop out if she pulled too hard. His senses told him that Brad was charging in, but Noel quickly nipped that in the bud as he powered up and gave a stern glare at him, causing him to back off. "I need to speak with her," he said, turning his glare back to her. "Alone." Brad simply nodded and went to sit down on a nearby mound of dirt that had been turned up during the fight.

"Would you like to tell me what that was all about back there?" he asked calmly. She didn't answer, but he could still see how upset she was. "I'm not letting go until you agree to talk, and not to use my head as a plow."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said obstinately, using the snobby-like voice she always used when she wasn't going to talk to him. "I was just doing my training like I'm supposed to." The venom in her voice didn't decrease, but she did relax her muscles. Noel held on all the same, but he moved closer to her so it wouldn't hurt her.

"Cut the garbage," he said sharply. "Your punches told me there were a problem. You were sloppy, you were putting too much power into them, and you've been cold towards me for a long time now." He took a deep breath as he forced himself to calm down. "Would you please tell me what the problem is? If it's something I've done, I can't fix it unless I know." Her face softened a little, but it quickly disappeared and before Noel knew it she had torn out of his grasp, turned around, and fiercely planted her knee into his groin.

"For starters, that was for firing an energy attack into my back while we were double teaming Brad!" she shouted. "Of all the dirty, low-down…"

"Okay, okay," he gasped, kneeling before her and fighting back tears. "Point taken, and I deserved that."

"I don't care what kind of a tactic you think it was, I won't tolerate it!" she continued to rant. She took a deep breath, though, and turned her back to him. "I'm going back to the Harpers. I'll see you again tomorrow and maybe by that time I'll want to talk to you," she said before taking off into the air.

"You okay?" Brad asked, rushing up to Noel after she had left. "Are you going to go after her?"

"Yes, and no, in that order," he muttered, moving to a sitting position and taking deep breaths. "I'll let her blow off some steam right now. I think we'll take the day off tomorrow. We were pretty much done for today, too."

"Come on, then," Brad said, helping him up. "We need to get out of here before the authorities show up. We cut it too close at the last site, and they're becoming more efficient."

"Don't worry," Noel reassured, as they flew off together. "I'll use part of tomorrow to find some new sites."

OOO

"Nathan?" Alison's mother asked, when she opened the door of the Harper's home that evening. "What are you doing…" The boy simply shook his head with a small smirk. "You're Noel, aren't you?" she asked rhetorically, realizing what she had done. "I still haven't figured out how to tell the difference between you two," she said when he nodded. "It's surprising how hard it is to tell the difference between Alison and Alice at times."

"Speaking of Alice," Noel piped in, almost sheepishly, "is she here? I kind of need to speak to her."

She hesitated for a second before responding. "I think so, but she seemed really upset when she got back. Is something wrong?" she asked with a motherly tone in her voice.

"No," he responded. "We just need to talk about some stuff."

Again, she hesitated for a moment before replying, "I think she's with Alison; let me go check."

The layout of the Harper's home was almost the exact same as the Smithers', so it was no surprise when a young lady exited from a room at the top of the stairs a few minutes later. What did surprise him was that it was Alison. Noel didn't say anything, but raised an eyebrow as if expecting an explanation. "She's not in the mood to talk right now, and she told you to come tomorrow. You should just go," she said directly, and icily.

"I really need to talk to her," he pressed.

"She doesn't want to talk to you. Please leave," she said even more forcefully than before. He would've pressed the issue even further, but something in her expression stopped him…pure hatred. It was something that he had never seen in Alice before, so it took him by surprise to see it coming from Alison.

"Then at least give her a message for me," he said, stating it rather than as if he was asking for a favor. Alison didn't reply, but the icy look didn't soften a bit. "We're taking the day off tomorrow. I'll come by tomorrow sometime to give her all the details, but she can take tomorrow to rest." Again, no response from Alison. He was the first to break eye contact as he turned to the door. As he did, Alison started to head back to her room. "And, Alison," he said, stopping her and turning enough so only one eye could see her, "I don't know what's going on between you and Nathan, but I'm not him. I love my girlfriend very much; I don't like seeing her like this."

He turned to go, but slowed at her response. "You say that, but you're just as obsessive and possessive as he is," she growled, and it came out as a borderline shout.

"Alison!" her mother exclaimed, coming around the corner and surprised by her daughter's sudden outburst. Noel didn't stick around for the ensuing argument. He simply walked out the door, powered up, and took off into the night sky, ignoring whoever might be watching. Alison's final words had set something off in him, and he needed some time to think.

OOO

The atmosphere in the Harper's living room was awkward that next morning as Noel waited patiently for Alice to come down. He was sitting in on the couch with his back facing the doorway, and across from him sat Mrs. Harper and her husband, Dr. Tony Harper. They all had made small talk for the first few minutes of Noel's arrival, but soon it had dropped off into silence. Only the cuckoo clock on the wall could be heard ticking off the seconds.

Finally, the sound of a couple creaking boards signaled someone coming down the stairs. "You ready?" Noel asked, almost in a whisper as Alice and Alison came in. The tension between everybody was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Yeah," she said, equaling his level.

"Alison," Mrs. Harper prodded, looking fiercely at her daughter.

"Noel," Alison started uncomfortably, looking away. "I'm…sorry for what I said last night. It was out of line." The silence again enveloped them as Noel stared at her for a moment, assessing the situation. He could tell that the apology was somewhat forced, but he decided not to comment on that.

"Maybe," he finally answered. "But that doesn't mean you weren't right," he conceded. "I thought about what you said, and I think there's some stuff that needs to be taken care of." He and Alice made one final wave goodbye as they walked out the door and down the semi-circle driveway towards the bridge.

They walked in silence until they reached the center of the bridge, where Noel gently reached out and took hold of one of Alice's hands. She tensed a little, but turned and leaned against the stone railing and stared out across the lake. There was a gentle breeze that rocked the water back and forth. "So...what's on your mind?" he asked uncertainly. There was a long silence, and for a moment he was afraid that she wouldn't talk to him.

"It's just...it's just...sometimes I don't feel like I'm that important to you," she said finally.

There was a slight pause before Noel answered cautiously, "What do you mean?" She sighed, exasperated. "Alice, come on; you're being too vague," he stated defensively.

"You must be really dense and selfish if you don't get it by now!" she shouted, pulling away from him. "It's only something I keep reminding you almost every month!"

"Of all the...are you talking about the training?" he asked, his own anger bubbling.

"Give the man a prize!" she shouted sarcastically. "For a moment I thought I'd have to draw you a picture!" The venom in her voice was unmistakable.

"We're in the middle of a war, for crying out loud!" he shot back. "You knew when you signed on that we had to be ready!"

"And you knew when we started dating that we needed to spend time together, but time and time again you put me off for work!" she argued again, fighting back the tears that threatened to pour out. There was a pause as Noel looked away in shame.

"Alice...I'm..." he started.

"No!" she interrupted. "No more apologies; no more excuses! If you really enjoy fighting that much then go right ahead, but I'm done. And this conversation is over." She pushed passed him back towards the Harpers house. He was about to chase after her, but decided against it.

_'It's better to give her a chance to cool down,'_ he thought. He leaned against the stone railing and gazed out across the lake. _'It's not like it would've done me any good anyways,' _he added bitterly.

OOO 

"So when are you guys headed back?" Nathan asked.

"I don't really know," Noel answered. "I guess it'd be when we finally defeat Sephiroth." The two weeks had passed quickly. Because of the lack of supplies, the team had been forced to train every other day for the second week. Of course, Alice had been given the message, but Brad had to have been the one to give it. Even then, she barely ever said a word to Noel unless he asked her a direct question about business. Needless to say, it was a stressful environment for everybody involved. "If we defeat Sephiroth, I should say," he added despondently.

"Well, normally I'd say that you took my line since I'm usually the pessimistic one," Nathan said with a trace amount of humor. Nathan had come to the campsite to talk since Alice was at the Harpers, and Brad went out scouting to see if he could gather any clues on Sephiroth's whereabouts. "Don't worry about it, though," he reassured. "If anybody can beat him, it's you guys."

"Yeah, maybe," he replied, more humoring his universal twin than actually believing it himself. "At least that would be one problem I could solve," he sulked.

"Still having problems with Alice, I take it," Nathan asked rhetorically. "I wish I could help, but I honestly don't think you'd want my advice."

"Which begs the question," Noel asked, suddenly curious. "What the heck did you do to make Alison so mad at you? She practically takes my head off every time I see her, and I've barely said anything to her!"

"Heh, it must be pretty bad if she's taking out her frustrations out on you," Nathan laughed with a wry smile. "I don't really know how to put it, though," he nervously laughed. "I guess the best thing to say is that it's the exact opposite of what you and Alice have." When Noel gave him a look, he quickly added, "Oh come on, you two may have your spats, but you both love each other. Alison and I work more on a love-hate relationship. I love her…and she hates me."

"And what, pray tell, caused her to dislike you so much?" Noel pressed. "I know early on I tried to gain Alice's attention by following her around and teasing her and so on and so forth…oh, please don't tell me…" He slapped his forehead with his hand, shaking his head as the sudden realization hit.

"Let's see, it's been going on for about three and a half years now?" Though it had come out as a question, it was clear that it wasn't one.

"You've been chasing her for three and a half years? Haven't you learned how to take 'no' for an answer?" Noel asked incredulously, then realized the absurdity of the question. "I guess not. After all, I probably would've done the same thing."

"What can I say? I persevere," Nathan stated simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"Stubborn would've been the word I'd have picked," Noel said with a hint of scolding.

"Eh, to-ma-to, to-mah-to," Nathan said with a small, dry grin.

"Yeah, well, you're playing with a dangerous tomato," Noel replied. "You'd better hope it doesn't blow up in your face." There was a short pause between them before Noel decided to change the subject. "Anyways, where are the girls right now? Since Alice hasn't been real social lately, I have no idea what her plans are."

"I know Mrs. Harper volunteered to help set up for a banquet at our church for this weekend. I'm guessing she enrolled Alison's help, and probably Alice's for that matter," Nathan replied.

"Well, I've got nothing better to do," Noel said, getting up and dusting himself off. "I'm going to see if they need any help. You wanna come?"

"After the lecture you gave me, are you sure it's okay?" Nathan asked with a small grin.

"Just help out and keep your distance, or else I might have to kick your tail myself," he replied, with a sarcastic grin of his own.

OOO

"Thanks for helping, Alice," Mrs. Harper said, as she carried a box into the gym. "We can use all the help we can get to set this up."

"It's no big deal. I'm always glad to help," she replied, setting her own box on the counter of the adjoining kitchen and walking over to help Alison straighten up the cloths on the table. "Noel, go away, I don't have time to talk with you right now," she said coldly as the two boys walked in, not even looking up from what she was doing. Alison looked up long enough to give an icy glare of her own, making the guys cringe, but quickly went back to work.

"I'm not here to talk," Noel said softly. "We're here to help out." Neither of the girls said anything in response.

Suddenly, a spike of energy could be felt, causing Noel to turn around at almost break-neck speed. At first the girls wondered what the problem was, but then Alice felt it and went ashen. "What?" Alison asked, alarmed.

"Nathan! Alison! Get everybody and get out of here through the back!" Noel shouted. The command left no room for argument. Nathan turned to see what had Noel so riled up and saw a lone figure two parking lots down. The man was so far away that he couldn't see his face, but the black trench coat and armor he was wearing along with his long silver hair was easily distinguishable.

"Oh…n…no!" Nathan stuttered, unable to keep his body from trembling. "I…it's…S…S…Seph…Sephiroth!" he gasped.

"Leave now!" The command held even more desperation than before. "Go!" he added, when he noticed nobody was moving. Shakily, Nathan and Alison went into the gym's kitchen, where Alison's mother was along with all the other volunteers.

"Such incredible power!" Alice gasped in awe, coming up and standing next to Noel, forgetting all the while how mad she was at him. "Why didn't we sense him earlier?"

"Because he's not hiding from us now," he growled. "He's daring us to attack." They could see Sephiroth slowly advancing, the Masamune dangling at his waist. "Come on, this is what we trained for!" he said to Alice.

She nodded, but added, "Shouldn't we form a plan and wait for Brad?" Noel stretched out his senses for his friend, and raised his power level as they hit the blacktop.

"There's no time to wait," he replied grimly. "We're just going to have to hold him off and hope that Brad gets here soon." Sephiroth had already crossed one parking lot, and was entering the small playground that separated it from the school's.

The air was tense as their white, fiery auras surrounded them and they charged head first at their enemy. They briefly noticed Sephiroth smirk before he phased out of their sight. They stopped, confused, but then Alice cried out, "Look, there he is!" Noel followed her gaze, and his heart dropped into his stomach when he saw that Sephiroth had reappeared at the spot where they had started.

_'Crap!'_ thought Noel. _'He covered that much distance, and we couldn't so much as track him! We are so screwed! Wait…if he's that fast, though, then why didn't he just kill us when we were off guard?'_

As if reading Noel's mind, Sephiroth answered with a shout, "I'll clean up my toys here in a minute, but first I need to exterminate a potential pest!"

"Nathan and Alison!" Alice shouted with realization. "He's going to kill them."

Without uttering another word, they flew as fast as they could to intercept the madman, but was stopped at the last second by a new enemy…Sunstar! "It's been a long time, Guardian," he cackled with delight. "I've been waiting for a chance to crush you."

Noel didn't say anything, but thought, _'This doesn't make any sense! Why does Sephiroth want Nathan and Alison unless…'_ His eyes went wide as the thought hit him, but quickly changed back to his battle state. "We don't have time for this! Get out of my way or else I'll turn you into scrap metal!" he threatened.

"We!" Alice added, backing Noel up. "We'll turn you into scrap metal!"

"Here's a better idea!" came another voice out of nowhere. "How about I turn him into scrap metal?" Before anybody could respond or locate the voice, Brad plowed into Sunstar's head with both feet, skipping the android across the parking lot. "Go!" he said to Alice and Noel. "I can take care of him; you guys need to help the others!"

Noel hesitated for a second before nodding. "Thanks, Brad!" he said, as the two of them jumped the three steps leading up to the door of the gym. "Hopefully, they already got out," Noel said to Alice, but as they entered through the second set of double glass doors a couple steps ahead, he was dismayed to find he was wrong.

All the tables had been wrecked and parted to either side of the gym, and already several dead bodies littered the floor, including Mrs. Harper. Though it wasn't her own mother, Alice just about retched at the sight. Though on their feet, Nathan and Alison were cowering in terror next to the door to the kitchen. Between the two groups was Sephiroth, his back to Noel and Alice. "Hmph," they could hear him snort sarcastically. "Good help is so hard to find," he said with a smile in his voice. "Oh well, I'll get the pleasure of killing all of you myself."

"Oh no you don't!" Noel shouted, unsheathing the Master Sword in one fluid motion and aimed to bring it down on Sephiroth's head. The counter didn't surprise Noel as much as the speed that Sephiroth had pulled out the Masamune and parried Noel's blade right before it touched a hair on his head. Noel landed in front of his adversary, cutting him off from Nathan and Alison, and they held the blades in a stalemate. Rather, it was one sided because Noel was pushing with everything he could, but Sephiroth seemed to be having the time of his life. All the while, Alice phased behind Noel and next to Nathan and Alison.

"Come on," she prodded. "We have to get out of here." They didn't move for a second or two, and she couldn't blame them for being in shock at everything that was happening.

"We…we can't…go out the back," Alison finally said. "Monsters are guarding all the exits…"

"We're trapped!" Nathan finished. Alice bit her lip. She probably could clear out the monsters, but it was evident that Noel would need her help to defeat Sephiroth. Even then, it would all depend on if Brad hurried to their aid as well. The decision was made for them, though, as Sephiroth gave a mighty push against Noel, sending him the few feet back and into the wall. Alice had just barely missed him colliding into them before she scooped up their twins and pulled off to her left, which wasn't the best decision since it left them in a corner. There was another exit a few feet away, off to their side, but it was still too far away before Sephiroth would intercept them. The second Noel landed on the floor, he jumped to the side, putting himself between the two parties again.

"Why do you insist on fighting?" Sephiroth asked rhetorically. "I can make this quick and painless…" His face turned upward into a wicked grin. "…Or slow and painful. Very, very painful." Noel could feel his energy leaving him. No matter what he did, he was always a step behind. With a mighty cry, he flew at Sephiroth, slicing the Master Sword through the air. Amused, a few of the swipes Sephiroth dodged, but the others he blocked easily with the Masamune. Finally, on the final swing, he grabbed the arm holding the mystical blade with his free arm. "Can't you see that you're outmatched?" Sephiroth asked with a sickenly psychotic grin. Without a chance to react, a smooth swipe of the Masamune sliced smoothly through Noel's arm, severing it cleanly. Noel cried with pure agony as Sephiroth kicked him back towards the group, where he landed a few feet from them, losing blood rapidly. "It seems you lost something," Sephiroth said simply, tossing the limb aside, where it landed about a foot away from Noel. Alison threw up right there, and Noel coughed up blood while trying to stand.

"You…" Alice shouted out in a rage, and charging the madman without a thought for her own safety. The assault was cut short, however, when he plucked her out of the air by her neck.

"Ah yes, the girlfriend," he said, placing his sword into the ground. "Watch carefully," he stated to Noel, who looked at them in horror. "This is the last time you'll see her alive. Bolt Three!" He placed his other hand to her forehead, and a green orb in the socket of his gauntlet began to glow. She struggled futilely, trying to pry his hand from her neck, kicking his arms and head, but nothing budged. Finally, an extremely powerful electric current lanced through her entire being. When it subsided, he tossed her behind him and her lifeless body fell to the ground with a dull thump, her face turned to the group. Alison retched again, and Nathan found it hard to hold back as well. Neither of them had been in a situation as this.

Noel, on the other hand, had seen death many times over, but he couldn't pull himself from staring at Alice's vacant eyes, his mouth agape in disbelief. Her body had been completely fried from the inside out, and electricity still crackled here and there in small sparks. All in all, though, he couldn't believe he'd lost the one he'd love. Regret and hatred burned through him, but he stood his ground. He continued to hold his stump of an arm with his good hand, and glanced for a brief second at the others. "You guys…have to go…" he said quietly, his face changing to one of resignation. He continued to talk, though his gaze returned to Sephiroth. "It's over here. Find Brad…and train. You guys are our last hope!"

"You're right about one thing," Sephiroth said, butting into the conversation. "It's over." He phased out, sword in hand, and Noel turned instinctively, fearing he was targeting Nathan and Alison. Instead, though, a sharp pain ripped through his back and out his stomach. Looking down, he saw the bloody Masamune sticking out of him. Sephiroth removed it fiercely before floating back to where he had started.

"Please…" Noel gurgled, falling first to his knees and then to the floor, his very life draining out of him. "Go…" With that, he was gone. The silence following was deathly eerie.

"Who to kill next," Sephiroth said in a casual manner, sheathing his sword yet again.

Without thinking, and without anything else to do, Alison took Nathan's hand and shouted, "Nathan, run!" The boy stood dumfounded at the events for a split second then willed his mind to move his legs.

"Ah, ah, ah," Sephiroth stated, amused at the sight. "I'm not done with you. Fire Three!" A different orb glowed as a column of fire shot out of his now outstretched hand, and, seeing as it was headed for Alison, it was all Nathan could do to push her out of the way and used the recoil of the push to fall back and allow the attack to go in between them. "I think I'll fry you first!" Sephiroth said with sadistic delight, turning his focus on Nathan. Just as Nathan had thought it was the end, Sephiroth turned unexpectedly and shouted, "Ice Three!" A third orb glowed and lances of ice pierced the air, spearing in various vital places the form of Brad, who had tried to sneak up on the villain in the confusion. His now lifeless body fell to the ground with a sickening thud. "And that makes three," Sephiroth stated simply, making no attempt to hide the wicked grin that plastered his face from side to side. "You are making this too easy! I was expecting a challenge, but I guess that's all I can expect from a bunch of children. I don't understand how Ganondorf could have so much trouble with you." Sighing, he turned back to Nathan. "Now, where was I? Oh yes!" He resumed his stance as before, insane look still on his face. "Time for you to die. Fire Three!" Another column of fire erupted from his palm and raced towards the shocked teen.

Unexpectedly, though, another body threw itself into him, pushing him out of harm's way. The resulting blood curdling scream, however, turned his blood to ice. Looking up revealed that within the raging inferno was Alison. The image only lasted a second before the fire subsided, leaving only a charcoaled skeleton to fall to the ground. Again, silence enveloped the battlefield as Nathan stared dumbly at what had just happened. His brain had shut down and all reason escaped him. He slowly crawled to the corpse, seemingly oblivious now to Sephiroth's presence, and reached out to touch it. The warmth radiating off it stopped him, but it told him that what he was seeing wasn't an illusion. Sephiroth was about to fire again, but stopped at the display, arrogantly satisfied with his handiwork and curious as to what the youth would do next. "Why?" came the whisper, though it wasn't directed to Sephiroth. His head was bowed and tears were streaming down his face. Sephiroth considered ending the pathetic display right then and there, but hesitated as Nathan slowly rose from his knees. His head was still bowed as he slowly walked over and pried the Master Sword from Noel's severed appendage. He then continued over and unhooked the sheath from Noel's body and replaced the Master Sword, swinging it with one smooth motion and attaching it to his own before standing completely still. "Sephiroth," he finally said, raising his head just enough to release a deadly glare as he finished, "make no mistake…I will kill you!"

A/N: Finally! I was really pumped about that last section, and hopefully, you guys were too. It came so smoothly to me, it's kind of scary, but I did have it bumping around in my brain for the last couple of months ago so it's no real surprise I guess. I'd really like your feedback, both on the battle and the conversation between Noel and Nathan. I think overall everything sheds a little more light on Nathan and Alison's characters than at the beginning, and I would really like to know what everybody thinks of these two personality-wise. Again, I'm trying to be balanced between the two, so that's why I'm wondering.

I apologize again for how late this was, but I will have the next one out within two weeks. That's a promise I'll stake my life on. I really don't like it when I break my promises, and the last two I broke concerning this chapter have really killed me inside. I guarantee it'll be a…killer (heh, heh, heh). Anyways, I'll catch ya later and be sure to READ AND REVIEW!


	28. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot.

A/N: This chapter was remarkably easy to write, which is a striking contrast to last chapter. It's probably because I've had this battle running through my head for the few months. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did!

Chapter 23

"What did you say?" Sephiroth asked incredulously. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

No response; only silence. Sephiroth stared at Nathan, and almost shivered at the casual stance, though deadly glare, the boy was giving him. "Well if it's a death wish you have, then I'll crush you with my bare hands!"

He charged, but at the last second Nathan brought his spread out hands up to the sides of his head and shouted, "Solar Flare!" A blinding light lit up the area, and stopped Sephiroth in his tracks, clutching his eyes in pain. The next thing he knew was Nathan's fist imbedded in his stomach, the boy appearing in front and slightly under him. Before he could react, Nathan moved off to the side and followed up with a roundhouse kick directly to his face, sending him towards the opposite side of the gym. As Nathan was following through with the kick, he brought back his wrists to his left side, shouting, "Kame Hame Ha!" An orb of energy gathered in the center of his palms before he brought it forward and released a blue beam as he finished the turn, following Sephiroth into the hole in the wall and blowing him completely out of the school and onto the street.

Only the sounds of rubble settling and horns of surprised traffic filled the battlefield. Nathan slowly walked forward, confidence and rage filling his every step. Sephiroth had crashed, and collapsed, two nearby houses on his impromptu exit, but Nathan didn't care. The last thing on his mind were the innocents about to be killed; only revenge. As he approached the outside edge of the hole, he noticed the pile of rubble far away begin to stir. He stood there and waited as Sephiroth pulled himself to his feet, his clothing slightly torn and a trickle of blood ran down his face from a small scratch on his temple. "Heh, you caught be by surprise," he said with an amused smirk, wiping the blood from his face and walking out onto the street.

"I knew that wouldn't hurt you," Nathan replied with a casual smirk of his own.

"Hey, buddy, get your butt out of the road," an angry motorist shouted from his window, and then muttered several insults and curses.

Sephiroth didn't move, except for pointing one finger, and muttered, "Fire One." A small stream of fire pierced through the car, igniting it and causing an explosion. The resulting chaos as people fled didn't faze either fighter. "Well then, let's make this interesting, shall we?" He took off his gauntlets and the orbs out of his sword. "No materia," he stated simply.

"You sure?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow, though the smirk remained. "I'd hate for you to have regrets after I beat the crap out of you."

"I'd watch that arrogance if I was you, but just so you know..." He picked up one of the green orbs on the ground and tossed it to Nathan, who caught it flawlessly with one hand. "'Destruct' materia," Sephiroth stated simply. "With one spell I could kill you like a bug, but that would take the fun out of the battle. You think you're really strong because you got a lucky shot in, but I'll show you who you're dealing with by beating you on your own level."

"Talk, talk, talk," came the response. _'He's right, though,'_ Nathan thought, though not trying to betray it on his face. _'My skills are elementary at best. There's no way I could pull off an advanced move like the Kaio-Ken, or even Noel's Master Enhancement technique without seriously killing myself.' _

Sephiroth made the first charge, and Nathan quickly flew backwards into the gym. However, Sephiroth caught him off guard by adding a sudden boost of speed, head-butting him in the chest. It knocked him off balance, but when he hit the floor he quickly turned it into a roll and jumped to his feet, crossing his arms into an X to block the incoming punch. His body shook from the blow, but his anger pushed him onward as he redirected it upward and used the momentum to arc backwards, first connecting his knee to his adversary's face followed by his foot. As he came down, he leapt off of one arm and, as soon as a foot managed to touch the ground, he bounded forward with a head-butt of his own to Sephiroth's gut, doubling the fiend over. Sephiroth recovered faster than expected, though, taking a quick step back and bringing both hands down hard on Nathan's back. He rolled out of the way, however, before Sephiroth could sever his spinal cord with his foot. Nathan pushed himself back up, only to encounter a knee into his gut. He recovered fast enough, though, to catch the first punch to his face with one hand, and the second one with his other. The two warriors stood there in a stalemate, neither giving an inch, before they broke off. A few feet from the other, both fighters were breathing heavily. "I don't understand!" Sephiroth growled in a rage. "How could you possibly be this strong?" Suddenly, as if he was seeing things, an astral projection of Noel was standing next to Nathan, in the same stance and everything.

"Do you get it now, Sephiroth?" Nathan inquired, as he saw the realization strike his enemy. "I was wondering why Noel told me and Alison to escape. It's because we have the same potential as they did! Through the Master Sword, I'm linked with Noel in a bond that can't be broken, even by death! What he knows, I know. What he can do, I can do. And because we're fused, we're even more powerful than before. I am the Guardian of this realm, and I won't lose to a psycho like you!" he challenged. _'If only it were that simple,'_ he thought, trying not to have his face betray his thoughts. _'Granted, I did gain the ability to draw out my power because of the Master Sword, but if Noel hadn't allowed me to touch it before we arrived, I wouldn't have established the link. In a sad sort of way, it was fortunate that Sephiroth killed everybody else because it was the trauma that solidified it. Unfortunately, I don't have the training to be anywhere near Noel's level of power. Not to mention the fact I lied about knowing everything Noel knows. There's no way I could pull off his techniques properly without him teaching me.'_

"You're bluffing," Sephiroth said simply, relaxing his stance. Nathan's face gave a little twitch, but that was all Sephiroth needed to confirm his suspicion. "If you were really that powerful, you would've beaten me by now."

"I was just warming up," Nathan said, trying to strengthen his bluff.

"Fool! The power Ganondorf gave me from the Triforce of Power easily overshadows you. Watch, and then die!" A black aura surrounded Sephiroth as he began to draw upon the evil power he was granted. Nathan could feel it in his being, and he automatically knew he was in trouble. He put his arms up to shield himself from the powerful winds that were being created, and it was everything he could do not to be swept away with them.

"It's funny that someone like you would ally yourself with someone like him, but I guess that's what power hungry maniacs do, huh?" Nathan taunted, though he knew that it probably wasn't the best idea. The only hope for survival now was to try and throw him off balance enough to get in one lucky shot, and pray for a miracle to happen. Sephiroth didn't respond, but with one last burst of power used super-speed to phase in next to Nathan, delivering a powerful kick that knocked him through the gym wall and out onto the pavement. Nathan had tried to turn and block the attack, but the best he could do was pull back a little. The result was still the same, though, as he bounced a couple of times and then stopped on his stomach. He struggled to get up, and coughed up a little blood. His body was covered with scratches and small gashes, all of which were bleeding. _'Okay, yeah, that was really painful,'_ he thought, struggling to pull himself up to his feet. Sephiroth casually walked through the new opening in the wall, face plastered with a psychotic grin. _'No choice, then. This is so going to hurt.'_

"Are you ready to end this?" Sephiroth questioned rhetorically.

He began to charge, but Nathan shouted, "Kaio-Ken!" A red fire surrounded his body as he felt indescribable power rush through his veins. He took off faster than ever before, appearing in front of Sephiroth in an instant and delivering a quick punch to his face. The force of the blow knocked him back, where Nathan was waiting with a kick to the back. He got a few more major hits in before Sephiroth pulled out of the attack pattern fast enough to throw a kick of his own to his side, where he had managed to catch a quick glimpse of Nathan. The boy barely had enough time to dodge, and do a few quick somersaults to put some distance between the two fighters.

The red fire vanished, and his body wouldn't stop trembling. All during the attacks, he had focused all of his energy on holding his body together. If he had tried to hold the technique together any longer, the power within him threatened to boil up to the point where it would blow up his body. "You surprised me again," Sephiroth stated casually, though he was visibly hurting. His face contorted to a sneer, though. "But you're at your limits now! For this…embarrassment…I will definitely kill you. Only very, very slowly."

'_He's right, I am at my limit,'_ Nathan thought desperately. _'But if I'm going down, I'm taking him with me!'_ The red fire enveloped his body again as he unsheathed the Master Sword and shouted, "Kaio-Ken!" His muscles bulged from the extreme power flowing through him, and as he charged forward he could feel the blood vessels within him begin to snap and burst. Despite the enormous amount of pain, though, he plowed forward. Using super-speed, he managed to land a few good hits, but Sephiroth had already become accustomed to the attack and was blocking most of the blows with the Masamune that he quickly drew. The sparks flying from the swords as they connected were like lighting, and the resulting sound like great crashes of thunder. Finally, one good kick from Sephiroth brought Nathan's assault to a screeching halt, causing him to skid across the pavement and the energy that had flooded his body vanished, leaving him utterly powerless, but not before he had used one final swipe with all his power to snap the Masamune from its hilt.

"Hmph," Sephiroth snorted in contempt, stepping up and kicking the Master Sword away from Nathan as well as throwing his own sword away. "Absolutely pathetic. You couldn't even be original with your attacks. You were hardly worth the effort. After I'm done with you, I'll take pleasure in tearing this pitiful planet apart." For the first time in the fight, he noticed all the emergency crews that had arrived at the scene of the fighting. All the personnel that surrounded the area stood dumbfounded at what was taking place. Even the police officers, guns still trained on them, trembled at the sight. "Let me give you a small demonstration," he said with a wicked grin. With one swipe of his hand, a massive explosion ripped through the area, disintegrating everything within a half-mile in every direction around them. Only the school's blacktop remained untouched. Nathan watched in horror at the act, as Sephiroth knelt down to whisper "And I was being merciful to them. The rest of the inhabitants will suffer much, much more. I might even have you by my side so you can watch, all because you stood in my way. And as you broke my sword, so will I finally break you!"

Nathan put his head back onto the pavement and tried not to sob, though tears joined the blood that ran from every opening on his face, and a feeling of failure washed over him. His thoughts turned to the deaths of his friends: Noel, Alice, Brad, and even Alison. He watched in his mind's eye as his friends from this realm would be the next to die, and he envisioned Sephiroth tearing them limb from limb. The cries were agonizing, and through the vision, he could feel power returning to him. He would not let this happen! Only when he was dead would he let this madman get away with this atrocity! A yellowish-golden aura covered his body, and with a giant scream, pushed Sephiroth several yards away with the power alone. Nathan rose to his feet, his body crying out with every movement, but he paid it no heed. "Sephiroth, I…won't…let…you…win!" he shouted, grasping at as much energy as he could.

"This…power!" Sephiroth said, truly in awe. "Where did you get this power? Wait. You're tapping into your life energy?"

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" All reason leaving him, and without another word, Nathan went on the offensive. He knew this would be the last chance that he had, so he poured everything into his attacks. Sephiroth managed to counter a few hits, but Nathan plowed onward despite anything Sephiroth could dish out. Finally, after getting in several good hits that severely weakened his enemy, Nathan could feel the power begin to diminish and his life leaving him. With one final exertion of strength, he phased in just in front and under Sephiroth and brought his wrists back. "You want an original attack? Fine! Kamikaze Blast!" A black and blue orb formed in the center of his palms before he brought the attack forward, planting it directly in Sephiroth's gut. The blast was enormous, lifting Sephiroth off the ground before entirely engulfing him in a blinding spectacle.

The force of the attack had pushed the earth around Nathan down into a small crater, where he now collapsed after the attack had ended. There was no sign of Sephiroth anywhere, and he would've cried with joy if he had any energy left whatsoever. His mind began to shut down, and his senses were becoming hazy. In the corner of his eye, though, he noticed the fuzzy shape of a person walking up to him. The figure was different than Sephiroth's, so he breathed a sigh of relief. Through the haze, he could barely make out that it was a girl, though her age he couldn't tell. She had light hair, but again he couldn't focus his eyes enough to tell exactly what color, but he knew it fell just slightly past her shoulders. She wore a blue and gray outfit, almost like a jumpsuit, and he could distinguish a bit of red here and there. She muttered something to him, but his hearing was too far gone to understand the words. In her left hand she held the Master Sword, which she laid next to him, and then stood back up and pulled out a small harp that had been attached to her back, beginning to play a quiet tune. He could've sworn he recognized the song, but the notes seemed too far away for him to grasp. He briefly noticed the Master Sword begin to glow before everything went white…and then black.

A/N: How's that for a cliffhanger? Everybody is pretty much dead, and although one madman has been taken care of, there's still one more on the loose. Who is this mysterious person? And will I decide just to end this story here? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out.

Early in the chapter Nathan mentioned Noel's Master Enhancement technique. I meant to put that in last chapter, along with one of Alice's moves, but I accidentally forgot since the scene changed a little bit more than I had first imagined it. I'll put in a more thorough description of the technique later, but it's basically a weaker form of the Kaio-Ken (which comes from DBZ). I gave Nathan moves from DBZ because it made the most sense that he would know how to pull them off since he had seen them done on TV and such. The more complex moves, like the Kaio-Ken, which take stuff that's not necessarily seen makes it harder for him to pull off. That and the fact I didn't want to make Nathan into a powerhouse from a weakling, no matter what the excuse I used in the story was.

In any case, be sure to READ AND REVIEW!


	29. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot.

A/N: I can't believe a whole month has already passed and I haven't posted a chapter until now. It wasn't intentional, I can tell you that much; this chapter was a big pain in the butt to write, which is in stark contrast to the last two I've put up.

Basically put, this is another set-up chapter for what's to come. (You didn't actually think I'd end it here after all the work I've put into this now did you?) Looking back, I wish I'd given myself a little more to work with for this chapter, but it's not a big deal. It's not up to par with the last two, but I hope you guys enjoy it all the same.

Chapter 24

"Oh," Nathan groaned, sitting up and rubbing his aching head. Wait, he was still alive? His eyes shot open and looked over his body to find himself completely healed. Looking around, he noticed he was in the church, laying on one of the front pews.

"It's about time you came to, Sleeping Beauty," a voice behind him said. Turning, he found Noel standing at one of the entrances to the auditorium. The others, except for Brad, were sitting patiently in the overflow.

"What...who..." he stuttered in surprise. "How did you guys survive?" It only then hit him that the church, which had been annihilated in the battle as well, had also been restored completely.

"Why don't you tell us?" Noel asked, as they moved to his side.

"I...I don't know," he answered, his face becoming stressed as he recalled the battle. "I remember watching you die, the area being turned into a wasteland, and blowing that son of a..." He hesitated as he got warning glares from Alice and Alison, but quickly improvised, "...biscuit to kingdom come, but after that it's a little hazy." Suddenly, he remembered something else. "Oh, and there was this...girl. I couldn't tell who she was, but she played a strange tune on a harp. Before I conked out, I noticed the Master Sword glowing. Do you think there could be some connection?"

"I...don't know," Noel replied, unsheathing the Master Sword, which he had retrieved when they had first found Nathan, and looking at it. _'What other secrets do you have?'_ he thought.

"How long was I out?" Nathan asked, rubbing his head again.

"About an hour or so," Noel replied. "But we don't know how long we were out, so it might've been longer."

"Well, that explains this massive migraine," he answered, rubbing his temples slowly and wincing. "What about everybody else? Are they alive, too?"

"Every single one," Alice confirmed, barely able to hide the excitement in her voice. "I mean, it's like the battle never happened!"

"What about your friends? Did Sephiroth keep his end of the bargain?" he asked.

"Yeah, we found them nearby. They were also okay," Noel said. "They're helping Brad and Mrs. Harper with damage control. It's weird; we all remember dying, but nothing after that. Most people we ask, though, don't even remember the battle at all. Either they're in denial or…"

"…Or else it's the same thing that happened at the very beginning," Alice finished. "Something wiped their memories clean, which is actually a good thing. The last thing we need is trying to explain this."

"Naturally, I think it makes sense that you guys don't remember anything after dying," Nathan said logically. "Although it would be cool to see into the afterlife and then come back, that's not how it's intended to be." They all silently agreed, knowing that ultimately a High Power was in charge of everything. "So..." Nathan said, changing the subject, "now that Sephiroth is gone and the world is saved, what happens now?"

"Will and the others are probably worried sick about us, but Noel gains more power with each realm we visit so we'll stick around as long as we need to to train," Alice said, drawing a look from Noel. He didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement.

"Well, our home is always open to you. Without you guys we'd be dead," Alison said, although she added jokingly, "although you guys are the reason Sephiroth attacked in the first place."

"Well, thank you for that generous offer," Noel replied in gratitude, though there was a hint of humorous sarcasm. "Now if you'll excuse us, Alice and I need to run all this by our team." Alison was about to follow them out, but Nathan quietly called out her name. Noel stopped, too, but Alice tugged on his arm and he followed.

"I want to thank you," he said. "You saved my life."

"Don't worry about it," she said casually. "I was just returning the favor."

"Still..." he said, but she stopped him.

"Nathan, don't read into it, okay?" she replied. "Nothing has changed between us. Please just let it go." She turned to leave, but as she reached the door, she turned and added quietly, "What you did was very brave, though, even if it was a little foolish."

Noel and Alice watched as she walked by them and headed to the gym. "Do you think it was a good idea to leave them alone like that?" Noel asked. They hadn't heard the conversation, but they still watched through the large window.

"It might take some time, but I think they'll be fine in the long run," she answered. "And before you ask, yes, I'm fine with staying and training. After...I almost watched you die, I realized the importance in what we're doing. If we aren't at our best, we'll lose everything we hold dear to us. I want to stay and help you train."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he replied with a smile. "And I want to spend as much time with you as I can." She smiled sweetly, a smile he always loved to see, and they embraced. "Plus, I can't change your mind once you've set it on something," he added with a chuckle, causing her to pull back and slap him playfully on the arm.

"Ahem," Nathan cleared his throat, drawing their attention to find him standing there watching them. "If you two are done flirting, we'd better catch up with everybody else," he said with a smirk. They chased after him to whack him, but he used his new speed to stay just a step ahead of them as they wound their way through the halls.

OOO

"So, Brad, what happened with you and Sunstar after we left you?" Noel asked that night, as everybody gathered around the campfire. The stress that had covered them had disappeared after the battle, and they were finally able to enjoy their free time.

"Well..." he started, poking a stick into the fire as he recounted his story.

_"You want them you'll have to go through me," Brad challenged, standing in a casual stance as Sunstar picked himself off the ground._

_"You're pretty brave," Sunstar chuckled, turning so his buster arm was faced away from Brad as it formed. "And a fool!" He turned suddenly, firing a Nova Blast at him. An explosion wrapped around Brad as the attack hit, and Sunstar smirked with evil satisfaction._

_His happiness turned to fear as a voice was heard through the flames and smoke. "Pathetic," Brad stated, parting and extinguishing the fire with one swipe of his hand. "You're not even half as tough as you used to be."_

_"You arrogant brat!" Sunstar growled in rage, charging at the teen. He threw a punch, but Brad effortlessly ducked under it with a yawn. Sunstar followed up with several blindingly fast attacks, but each time the teen fluidly evaded them. Finally, after one straightforward punch, Brad jumped up and perched on his arm._

_"Kinda hard to believe we used to have trouble with you, ain't it?" Brad asked with a mocking smirk, as he stooped low enough to look the frustrated Sunstar in the eye. Suddenly, Brad's gaze quickly turned to the gym, a serious look on his face. Taking this opportunity, Sunstar swung his free arm, slamming into Brad's face and knocking him to the ground. He got up slowly, but otherwise seemed unfazed. "Cheap shot," he stated with a smirk, rubbing his cheek. Taking a fighting stance, he said, "Sorry that I have to end this so quick, but my friends need me." Without giving Sunstar time to retort a response, Brad phased in behind him and landed a devastating blow to his back, breaking through both the armor and his synthetic skin. Sunstar's face lit up with shock as an energy blast ripped through his torso, almost severing the android in half. Without looking back, Brad left the wrecked robot and headed into the gym to face Sephiroth._

"So you killed him?" Noel asked, almost incredulously.

"Well, if he wasn't dead after the blast, he most certainly died from the wound later," Brad stated. "I didn't have much of a choice; I felt your power drop dramatically, and Alice's dropped soon after I landed the killing blow. I didn't have time to drag the fight out and wait for him to escape."

"He may not be dead," Nathan said, drawing attention to him. "I wasn't paying too much attention to the battlefield, but I didn't see him when we were fighting. Ganondorf might've transported him back to wherever he's hiding."

"If that's the case, then he'll probably repair him," Alison assumed.

"And you can make a safe bet that he'll be much stronger when we face him next time," Alice agreed. "Ganondorf doesn't like failure, but at this point in the game he can afford to power up some of his older troops rather than waste energy calling in new ones."

"Which brings us to our next point of business," Brett said. "It looks like we need to train even harder so we don't get our tails handed to us again."

"I'd be glad to train with you guys, but I still have school and I don't think the teachers will buy all this," Nathan added.

"And I don't want to have to explain it to them," Noel quipped with a sarcastic smirk. "However, I think training with two Guardians instead of just one will speed things up a little. I can open the portal at any time with the Master Sword, and I'm sure everybody wants to get back as soon as they can." Everybody around him nodded in agreement. "Maybe I can teach you some of my moves, too," he added. Nathan thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head.

"Naaaah," he stated. "I think these moves kind of make me stand out. I'd like to work on my own with what I have already. Thanks though." Noel shrugged, knowing that trying to persuade him otherwise would be pointless. The boy was as stubborn as he was at times. Instead, he turned to Alison.

"What about you? You interested in learning some of this stuff?" he inquired. She thought about it for a moment, but shook her head.

"I'd really like to, but I don't think my parents would go for it," she said.

"I can see that," Alice agreed. "My parents almost didn't let me do it, so it's no surprise that they'd be protective of you."

"Anyways, it's getting late," David interjected with a yawn. Again, the others agreed and began packing up their things. Noel, Brad, Brett, and David stayed at the campsite, with Noel staying up first to watch over the campfire, while Alice and Alison went back to Harpers and Nathan returned to his house. The upcoming training would be rougher than any before and they knew they would need to be fully rested to take it on.

OOO

A little less than two months passed and everybody had progressed tremendously because of their training. The final day had come and they all had agreed to meet in a field on the outskirts of town so they wouldn't be spotted. Well, everybody except Alison. She was the only one of the group that couldn't fly, and there was no way she was going to let Nathan carry her back to town. Therefore, the group had said goodbye to her the night before, so there were no hard feelings one way or another. "Take care of yourself," Noel said to Nathan, who responded with a slight nod.

"You too," he answered. "If you guys ever need anything, I'm willing to help out." Noel gave a slight nod of his own as he unsheathed the Master Sword. He raised it into the air, and it began to glow a bright blue. "Master Sword, heed my command and open the portal back home!" Noel shouted, slicing it through the air, opening a rip in the fabric of the space/time continuum. David, Brett and Brad were the first ones to step in, followed by Alice, who gave a quick wave. Noel looked back for a just a second before stepping in and gave a smile and thumbs-up. Nathan returned the gesture just as the portal closed in front of him.

OOO

"Noel, what's going on?" Alice asked in a panic, as the portal winds batted them around and lightning struck. This trip through the portal was just like the one they had come through that started the whole nightmare. Debris was everywhere, and it was everything they could do not to slam into one of the many hunks of rock that had somehow been sucked in through another gateway.

"Something's still upsetting the balance. Quick, everybody hold on to each other!" As they came within reach as a group, a strong bolt of lightning struck in the midst of them, causing a violent recoil that knocked them all in separate directions, each hurtling into the unknown darkness…

A/N: Yeah, this is a day late, and I apologize. I probably could've finished it yesterday, but I lost most of my inspiration and got sidetracked at the last second. It was hard to steer the dialogue and end it, but it wasn't as hard as previous projects.

The updates may or may not become a little less frequent. The problem is, I'm not going off my pre-written script too much anymore. The next several chapters should be okay, but some of the later ones I have to actually write rather than revise. I'll work hard to get them out, though. Once I get past this arc, it should be back to the basics so please just bare with me in the meantime, and I hope I can make it an enjoyable experience for everybody. Until then…catch ya later and PLEASE REVIEW.


	30. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.

A/N: Yay, I finally got the chapter out. This is basically a set-up chapter, so nothing fancy this time. Sorry, but it's a necessary evil. I'll explain a few things at the ending A/N, but for now enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 25

Alice's senses were fuzzy as the turbulence within the rift tossed her around mercilessly. "What...happened?" she mumbled to herself, as the blackish-purple atmosphere of the rift blew past her. She was faintly aware of the large pieces of rubble that had been sucked through by the countless smaller, insignificant rips in the continuum, and found it fortunate that she hadn't slammed into a giant rock by now. She craned her neck upwards and sudden alertness filled her as she tried to twist out of the way of an enormous boulder. She missed it by about an inch, but it still managed to graze her upper arm. Full of fear and panic now, she pulled herself together just enough to be able to bound from rock to rock, using her energy to steady herself through the turbulent atmosphere. Finally, though, after almost completely wearing herself out, a light appeared and sucked her through to the other side.

She took a few deep breaths and then noticed a small scratching sensation on her forehead. When she finally managed to pull herself together and open her eyes, she noticed she was on her knees, forehead against the cool grass floor of what appeared to be a very lush green forest, and she was breathing deeply. She wasn't sure how she got into that position, but when she tried to push herself up straight with her right arm, a small surge of pain overwhelmed her unexpectedly. She looked over and remembered the close call with the rock while in the portal, but looking closer revealed the cut still to be tender, but superficial, as the wound had already clotted and the pain lessened the more she focused herself and flexed a few times. She double-checked to make sure the backpack she had bought before they left Nathan's realm was still with her, along with all her supplies. Tugging on the straps gave her a little reassurance, and she adjusted them to be a little more comfortable as she also checked her belt to make sure the emergency canister was still intact.

'_Now where am I?'_ she thought, looking around. The forest was dark and dense, but very beautiful. The trees overhead blocked out much of the sunlight, but the rays that did manage to break through were almost divine in nature. She could hear the birds singing wonderful melodies and the wind rustling the leaves of the trees, but other than that nobody else seemed to be around and it was very quiet. "Noel!" she shouted, hoping for some sort of response from her teammates. "Brett! Anybody!" She waited for a few moments, but as she had expected deep within her, there was no answer. And she knew there most likely wouldn't be one anytime soon, either. For the first time, she was a stranger in a strange world, all alone to face whatever it was she had to face. In short, a sense of fear began to fill her.

_'Well,'_ she thought, putting on the best face she could, _'no point mulling about here. Maybe I can find some answers on how to get home. I just need to remember to stay calm.'_ As she found a narrow trail to follow, the thought had briefly crossed her mind that she might have been lucky enough to be dropped on Earth, but further investigation shattered that thought quickly. The first noticeable difference was that she couldn't sense any of her family, which had become second nature to her by now. The second was the strange energy readings that she was sensing right now. None of them were anywhere near being considered strong, but they were...different, for lack of a better term. She could identify human aspects of the signal, but it was mingled with something she couldn't place.

Within a few minutes of walking along the narrow path, she came upon a small clearing. The warm sunlight pooled in the middle where the trees didn't block it out, and all along the edges grew bushes near the bases of the trees. Plump, purplish berries grew off the branches of these bushes, but she didn't know the type they were. She reached out to pull one loose when, suddenly, she noticed a bit of rustling out of the corner of her eye, which turned out to be a small, white rabbit not too far from her. "Oh, you're so cute!" she squealed softly, slowly creeping up and bending over a little to get a better look.

To her surprise, though, the rabbit turned around, stood up on its hind legs, looked her up and down once, and said, "You're not too bad looking yourself, lass."

Her jaw dropped as her eyes went wide and she took a step back and almost shrieked as she exclaimed, "You can talk?"

"Aye, lass, since I was but a few weeks old," it answered, giving a small, awkward bow. "Danny McCabbage at your service." It was at this moment that she got over her shock and noticed he appeared slightly drunk. He didn't stand too much taller than up to her knees, except for one of his ears, which extended to her waist. The other was folded lazily in half, matching his half-closed eyes. She was about to ask if he was okay, when it seemed a sudden realization had hit the creature. "Oh no!" he cried, pulling back some fur on his wrist to reveal a small wrist-watch. "Oh, goodness, I'm late! Where is Nori? Oh, where is that blasted guard? We were supposed to find the ambassador and be back at the palace by now!" he stated speedily to himself, slurring a lot of his words in the process. "Wait!" he said, turning to Alice. "You're from Station Square, aren't you?" he asked. Her face was full of confusion, but before she could say anything he already had her by the hand and dragging her deeper down the path. "Oh happy day, I'm so glad I found you!" he spoke incoherently.

"Wait! Hold on!" she cried out, to no avail. _'So help me, if he drags me down a rabbit hole…'_ she thought wryly. He stopped quickly, which almost caused her to go diving off a large cliff, but she managed to pull up in time. The cliff was very steep, but it overlooked a small village that was visible within the branches and small clearing of the forest down below a few miles away. From their vantage point she could just barely make out both tree-houses and huts of various shapes and sizes, along with bustling villagers moving to and fro. She couldn't tell what the huts were made of, though she suspected wood and hay and the like, and even some made of metal, but the tree-houses all seemed to be made of metal, and even if they were she didn't fully understand how they were able to sit in the trees to begin with. A little further still was a large castle that was hard to miss, as it stood out above everything else and was on the edge of a second cliff. It didn't seem to be that old, but it did stand out amongst all the nature around them.

"Come along now; we're going to be late!" he said, jumping off the cliff with her in tow and breaking her out of her thoughts. Fortunately, she had enough sense to subtly steady herself with her energy as they leapt from one narrow ledge to the next until they finally touched down to the soft grass at the base of the cliff. "You're a good jumper," he complimented in his dazed stupor. "You should've been born a rabbit."

She barely got out, "Uh...thanks, I guess..." before he started to drag her through the forest again. _'Okay, this is getting old,'_ she thought, but they finally entered the city right as the rabbit began to run out of steam. He still had a hold on her hand, but they had slowed to a brisk walk for the moment. She noticed that the villagers she had seen earlier were also animals that walked and talked like humans did. A few would stare at her for a moment before returning to their work; others were too busy to notice her arrival. She was so captivated by what she was seeing, she almost tripped over a couple children that had run in front of her while playing tag. "So...where exactly are we?" she asked, partly trying to keep him from taking off again but also to get some information. His face had a look of shock and disbelief as he turned to her.

"What are you saying, lass? We're in Knothole Village! Surely as the Ambassador of The Hidden City of the Ancients you've been here several times before."

Before she could answer, though, a gruff voice called out, "Ambassador McCabbage!" Alice had just enough time to look over to see a circular object stop next to them, hovering just slightly over the ground. Inside was a large, burly guard. If Alice had to guess, she would've said he was a large bear of some sort, probably standing a little over her in height and wearing a purplish-pink beret. His fur was a light brown, and instead of being bulky like a bear normally would be, this one gave off the impression of being incredibly muscular, especially in the upper body. "King Elias needs a status report from you ASAP. Where is Officer Nori?"

"Bah, we got separated, and as far as I know he's still in the upper forest. I found the Ambassador of Station Square and we rushed back here as fast as possible," he explained with a slight slur. The guard looked from the rabbit to Alice, who didn't know what to do. At this point, she didn't want to be seen as a threat, but at the same time she didn't know how long it would be until the truth came out and all the dirt hit the fan. He gave a raised eyebrow at her, but also gave a slightly hurried shrug.

"The king awaits; we'll sort everything out in front of him. As for Officer Nori, we'll send out a search party for him," he said. Seeing no better solution, she nodded and climbed in, praying that everything would turn out all right. The hovercraft moved faster than expected, and since it flew at a safe altitude where nobody was at risk, the trip was smooth. In no time at all, they were at the castle gates.

The castle was indeed very large, with gray stone walls that surrounded all four sides. Several buildings were inside the walls, but three stone towers stood out the most, each having a red triangular flag flapping in the wind. While the outside had a medieval appearance to it, the inside was a sharp contrast. Instead of torches providing lighting, electric lighting was provided and advanced technology would be seen in some of the side rooms. The décor itself, though, was very royal-looking, with lush tapestries draping the walls and rich rugs covering the floors. "Your Majesty, the Ambassador from Station Square has arrived," the guard said, as they entered the throne room and approached the throne. The guard and ambassador kneeled, and Alice followed suit.

"Thank you, Officer Rigo, for finding them," the person on the throne said. He didn't look very old, maybe in his early to mid twenties, though since she wasn't familiar with how these creatures aged she couldn't be sure. He didn't sound old, so she based her observations on this instead. Aside from being a walking, talking squirrel, he wore a blue tunic with gold trim around the bottom edge and around his waist was a gold belt with a large square buckle. Draped around his shoulders and clasped by an eagle brooch was a flowing red cape with white fur around the neckline, and it dropped almost to the floor but not far enough where he could trip over it with his large blue boots. The hair on his head was a darker brown than the tan fur on the front of his face between his blue eyes and lighter tan fur made up his eyebrows and the area around his mouth and cheeks. He had a long brown tail that had a light tan tip that matched his face.

As she continued to scan the room, she noticed the female squirrel on the throne next to him. She wore a purple gown with a matching hooded cape that hung from her shoulders by a gold chain with an acorn brooch. On her feet were matching slippers, almost something that reminded Alice of the ones in "Cinderella." Her hair was also a darker brown than her fur, but it fell a little ways past her shoulders with a gentle curl at the end. The expression on her face was one of professionalism, but curiosity as well, as it showed it her emerald green eyes.

Allowing her eyes to drift further, she caught two more figures standing in the room, one on each side. Over on the left was another female squirrel or chipmunk, though she couldn't tell which. The girl stood up straight, dignified, so there was no doubt in Alice's mind that this was another member of the royal family. Her eyes were a piercing aqua blue, like the king's, and the fur and hair matched his in color as well, though her hair was longer, reaching down and curling at her shoulders, and eyebrows less bushy. Instead of the long tail he had, hers was very short and bushy. All she wore was a simple blue vest and matching boots.

On the other end, leaning against the wall, was a spiny blue hedgehog, which white fur on his arms and front. He had a casual smirk on his lips, but his green eyes carefully watched every movement made as if he was ready to spring into action if need be. He wore white gloves and red shoes with a white stripe and gold square buckles on them.

"You're not the ambassador, are you?" the king said, drawing her attention back to him sharply. Everybody in the room looked startled and immediately began to tense up a little. Alice didn't answer, but looked up with a serious demeanor and shook her head slowly. "I could tell by just looking at you. You dress like them, even look like them, but you don't bare the insignia that those in the past have. So who are you then? We don't like having strangers in the castle unannounced." The hedgehog appeared ready to attack if given the word, but the king gave a subtle wave of the hand to wait.

"My name is Alice Smithers, Your Majesty. I'm merely..." She suddenly decided that the truth of her hurtling through the realms might be a tough story to swallow, so she quickly improvised. "...a lost traveler trying to get home. I was…mistaken…for the ambassador you were looking for, and I apologize in advance for intruding..."

"Don't apologize," the king cut in, now turning his stern gaze to the rabbit. "Ambassador McCabbage, you've been eating the Plum-Drunk Berries again, haven't you?"

Sheepishly, the rabbit bowed his head in remorse and responded, "Y...yes, you...your majesty. I...I know I shouldn't have, but..."

"No 'but's', Ambassador," the king replied sternly. "I'm well aware of your history with them, but you need to learn to control your impulses. You could've led a spy in here and we wouldn't have known until it was too late!" He stopped for a moment and turned back to Alice. "I mean you no offense, I believe your story, but I'm sure you see my point." If Alice was offended, she didn't show it on her face as she gave a slight nod. He didn't really see it, though, as he now turned back to the terrified rabbit. With a sigh he said, "We'll sort this out further once our current situation is taken care of. Until then, though, I'm stripping you of your duties and putting you back in rehab under Dr. Quack. Are there questions or complaints?"

"N...n...no, sir," Danny replied, visibly disappointed, but a little more relieved.

"In the meantime, Miss Smithers, I'll have a couple of guards escort you out of the castle. I'm sorry we can't help you, or that there's no time for proper introductions, but we're in the middle of a…situation…right now," the king said, returning to Alice. Before she could respond, though, he turned to the blue hedgehog. "Sonic, I want you to take a couple of guards and track down the missing guard and the real ambassador immediately. We're running short on time, and…"

"Sire! Sire!" shouts were heard outside the throne room. Before anybody could say anything, two more guards barged in, supporting in between them a human woman. Her blue uniform was torn and shredded in several different places, and caked with blood. Her face was covered with bruises, scratches, and gashes, some of which were still bleeding, and it looked like her body might have had some broken bones.

"Guards, what is the meaning of this!" the king shouted. "Who is this?"

She rose her head just enough to whisper hoarsely, "Presenting…Ms. A…Aerial H…Hamilton…your…majesty. The…Ambassador…of Sta…Station Square." And then, without warning, she fell into unconsciousness.

A/N: Wow, I did not think this chapter would be this big a pain in the butt! There have been three major contributions to my slowness this time around. First, the descriptions are what's really killing me here, and the fact that I'm changing a lot of stuff from the original version doesn't help matters. Add in the fact that I haven't had a lot of motivation to write this thing, and it means I don't spend time to sit down and think about what I want to say like I usually do (that WILL change between now and the middle of February. I plan to get at least two more chapters out before the 17th). A third factor is the person I based Alice's character off of is getting married next summer. While that doesn't effect too much right now, it's going to make all those relationship scenes between her and Noel REEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLLLY awkward later on, if you get my drift.

Well, now that I'm going, I should be able to stay going for a little while. I'm planning on going back through and making some adjustments that need to be made. Nothing major, but I glanced back through my old work and I noticed a few mistakes that I missed. I'm going to change those along with a few of the easier ones that I marked earlier in the Author Notes. By next chapter I plan to have a list of what I changed. I don't have much in the way of classes, so this shouldn't be a difficult issue. Anyways, this chapter was supposed to be one long chapter, but I broke it up into two. There will definitely be some action next chapter and I'll wrap up this scene with her either the next one after that or the fourth chapter. We'll see how it goes; I'm kind of winging it right now.

I know I've let a few people down with my sudden disappearance and I promise to rectify that, but please don't give up me just yet. Once I start something, especially something like this, I don't like leaving it half done. I've seen too many stories like that. Well, anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and be sure to REVIEW PLEASE!


	31. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I own ABSOLUTELY nothing except my OC's and the plot.

A/N: Well, like I said in my profile, I'm no longer going to be making predictions on when updates come out. It's not that I'm that busy, but I don't have the motivation to just sit down and think things through. I reread my early chapters and I wish that I could rewrite them and to make them more interesting, and I'm going to make that part of this whole process. Anyways, I'll issue another apology for this late chapter, but from here on out, I'm working on my own pace.

Anyways, I tried to put some good action into this one, and after Alice's section is done within the next two chapters, we'll move to the next fighter. So here we go…

Chapter 26 

"Sonic, quick, get Doctor Quack immediately!" the king ordered, as the blue hedgehog snapped to attention.

"Not to worry," he flashed a thumbs-up and a smirk, "'quick' is my middle name." Without another word, he took off in a blur of blue, surprising Alice with his speed. Meanwhile, she watched as the chipmunk and the king, along with the two guards that brought the ambassador in, huddled around her body.

"This doesn't look good," the chipmunk said, reaching for the small handheld computer that was attached to a strap that hung from her shoulder. "Nichole, I need a diagnostic of her condition and transmit it immediately to Dr. Quack's computer systems," she instructed, as she pulled a small wire out from the side, which was attached to a miniature scanner.

"Scan initiated, Sally," the computer replied with a semi-monotone female voice. The device gave off a slight hum as a pale green light washed over the woman's body as the chipmunk slowly moved it along.

"Come on, Sonic," Alice heard her mumble as she looked over the results. "Where are you?" As if on cue, the blue blur returned, dragging a duck under one arm and a folded stretcher in the other. The duck's body was covered with yellow feathers, most of which were under a white medical jacket and large black boots that he wore. He had a black eye patch over one of his eyes and an orange bill.

Still a little disgruntled from being handled so roughly, the duck shot a quick glare at the hedgehog, who was unfolding the stretcher, before kneeling down by the body. He quickly checked her vitals, shaking his head as he performed each medical procedure he could. "We need to get her back to the ER. She's not going to last much longer otherwise."

Before anybody could make a move, though, a rumble shook throughout the castle as the roof above them collapsed. Instinct moved the hedgehog to grab the doctor and patient, trying his best not to hurt her further, and pull them out of harm's way. At the same time, the king pulled the chipmunk back, as the guards jumped back. Alice put her arms in front of her face to shield herself from the dust that was kicked up, looking towards the newly formed whole to find half a dozen blue robots peering in. They were big and bulky, almost three times as big as her, with a single ruby red visor on their dome-shaped heads, which had a small spike on top. "Do not attempt to resist. Surrender yourselves to Dr. Robotnik," the lead robot stated in a monotone voice.

Without a moment's hesitation, the blue hedgehog took to action and, using his super speed, ran straight up the wall at the group of robots. He spun into a ball, effectively becoming a buzz-saw with his sharp spines, and rammed into the lead robot. His attempt was ineffective, though, bouncing off the extremely hard metal. He was stunned for a brief second as he fell, but quickly pulled out of it, spinning his body so he landed on his feet. "What are you all waiting for?" he shouted. "Get out of here!"

"He's right," the king replied. "We need that ambassador alive. Guards, help Doctor Quack with the patient while we distract them. Sally, go call for the other Freedom Fighters!" There was a slight flash of light out of the corner of his eye, and the next thing he knew was that he was on the ground with the blue hedgehog on top of him. Where he had been standing before was a burnt hole from a laser blast.

"We have orders to terminate upon resistance," the robot droned. "Prepare to…" The robot stopped cold in its tracks as a golden beam of energy ripped through one side of its torso and out the other, causing it to explode and shower parts and metal onto the floor. A moment of dead silence and surprise fell over the battlefield. Looking to the source, everybody saw Alice, who now had her long hair up in a ponytail, with both arms outstretched and wrists connected horizontally. Without a word, she took off into the air, plowing through the torso of another robot before turning and firing a blast from both of her hands at two other robots, exploding on contact with their metallic hides and joining the explosion of the one she ripped through.

She took a moment and surveyed the surrounding area. All around her was chaos, as there were a couple hundred capturing the populace and destroying the village. After her display, though, all eyes had turned to her, and she swore she could almost hear the robots scanners designating her as an immense threat. _'They should,' _she thought with a smirk, but it quickly turned into a frown. _'I want to use the move I've had in store for awhile now, but I don't have enough control of it yet to make sure I don't harm anybody.'_ She growled in frustration, "Guess I'll have to do this the hard way."

She vaguely heard the animals in the castle try to warn her as the two remaining robots had gotten on either side of her and fired off their lasers. As the lasers were about to strike, though, they only hit an illusion and went on to pierce each other. Within only a span of a few seconds, she appeared within the midst of a cluster of about a dozen, slicing cleaning through one with a roundhouse kick while blowing two apart with energy attacks from her hand. She nimbly evaded a punch from another, while aiming another energy attack at the ground to push herself upward and using another kick to remove the head of the attacking robot. As she came back down, she used the same foot to make a clean slice vertically. Landing on hands and knees, she instantly rebounded off the ground with a kick and slammed her shoulder into a sixth one, causing to slam into the two behind it as she finished all three off with another energy blast. In rapid succession, she let loose with four energy balls, ending the quick skirmish.

"I'll give you one chance to leave these people in peace!" she said to the rest of them. "Or else you'll end up like your companions here. Either way, I have no problem dismantling each and every one of you!" Actually that was a lie, though she wasn't going to admit that. She didn't feel like expending the energy to waste pathetic opponents like this, but if she had to…

It looked like they weren't going to let her get her wish, though, as another group tried to attack her while those who were carrying civilians tried to flee. "Oh, no you don't!" she shouted, phasing in front of the fleeing group and taking each one out quickly and cleanly. As each dropped their cargo, she would catch them and place them gently on the ground. As the battle wore on, they would get further and further away from the village, and each fight she would make sure that the focus remained on her actions and not those of the freed villagers returning to their homes. After the course of fifteen minutes or so, though, of punching, kicking, dodging, blasting, and plowing through the ranks, the group of robots had dwindled to only about the last half dozen. "I don't suppose you guys would just consider giving up and going home, would you?" she asked with a smirk. They remained silent, but raised their laser weapons at her. She heaved a sigh as she said, "Didn't think so." With a flash of light and a shout, her white aura flared around her and then outward, the sheer power of it overloading their circuits and blowing them apart. She released a breath of air as the aura vanished and she floated to the ground.

"Ugh, I'll never get this stuff out of my clothing," she said to herself in disgust, looking down at her oil-soaked clothes. She was glad that she had put her backpack down before she started the fight, but she still wasn't happy to be covered in the slick liquid. Suddenly, she looked up and turned around to see that the king, chipmunk, and hedgehog who had been in the throne room had made their way to the battlefield and was looking at her. "I…suppose I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" she asked sheepishly, scratching the back of her head like Noel always would do if he was ever in an embarrassing bind. She didn't have time to dwell on him, however, as the king nodded. "Er…hold that thought," she said suddenly, turning just in time to catch a medium size energy ball. She struggled with it for a moment before deflecting it straight up into the sky.

"Well, you're everything I was told you'd be," a voice said, as she turned to where the blast had come from. Standing on a tree branch a few feet away was a teenage girl. She wore khaki-colored sweat pants with a light green T-shirt, both which went well with her thin figure. Her black hair was slightly frizzy, but pulled up into a ponytail. What was most disturbing, though, was the evil smirk on her face, particularly the way her deep green eyes were arched down in a gaze at her. "I thought for sure you wouldn't be able to deflect that at that range," she said casually, floating down to the ground and walking towards her. Alice barely registered the group behind her tensing for combat, but most of her focus was on the extreme power this individual was emitting.

"Who are you?" she growled, tensing for an attack.

"My, you must be feeling awfully dirty because of all that oil," she stated, ignoring her question. "I tried to persuade Robotnik that I could handle this on my own, but he just wouldn't listen to me. He just had to send out his little robots!" she proclaimed dramatically.

"So you're working for Robotnik?" came another voice, which Alice attributed to the female chipmunk.

"At the moment," she said, briefly glancing at her with a smirk before turning back to Alice. "It's getting awfully crowded, isn't it? Why don't we take this somewhere a little more…open?" Without warning, a powerful gust of wind lifted her off her feet and into the air. It took her a moment, but she finally was able to use her energy to stabilize herself.

"Who are you?" Alice asked again, as the mystery girl rose up to her level.

"You have a one-track mind, you know that?" she replied snidely, before resuming her smirk, though a little more casually than before. "You need to loosen up, relax, fly like a bird on the currents of the wind," she said, floating around freely in the air as she said it. Alice didn't loosen up, though, and the girl stopped and heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, fine, you can call me Bree, and I'm a Dark Elemental."

"Of Wind, I'm assuming," Alice stated. "And I bet you're actually working for Ganondorf. This was all a trap by him, wasn't it?"

"Well, nobody can call you stupid. It's no wonder Noel loves you so much," she said, noticing Alice twitch out of the corner of her eye. "I wonder how we'd look together…of course, once you're out of the picture." Alice was about to attack, but then backed off and laughed, which confused the girl.

"Heh…ha, ha, ha, ha! I bet Ganondorf promised Noel to you if you defeated me, right?" For once, Bree was silent, and Alice became serious again. "You're a fool. Ganondorf will kill you as soon as you do his dirty work. And even if he did allow Noel to live, he wouldn't accept a shallow airhead like you." Strangely, Bree smirked. Only this time, it was that evil smirk again.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see who's right, won't we? And don't forget that I'm a Dark Elemental, which means I love to destroy things. Once I've had my fun with your boyfriend, I'll just kill him myself…" Before she could finish her taunt, this time she did find Alice's fist in her face, knocking her back a few feet. "Seems I hit a nerve that time," Bree taunted, wiping blood from her lip.

"You talk too much," Alice retorted, charging in for another blow. However, Bree was one step ahead of her and delivered a knee to her gut, doubling her over before executing a hammer punch to her back, sending her plummeting to the ground and crashing back into the forest.

'_Okay, yeah, that hurt,'_ she groaned, shaking the spots from her vision and pulling herself out of the large pile of trees and shrubbery. A sudden surge of power drew her attention back to the sky where Bree had a spinning ball of transparent energy in her hand.

"Here! I'm sure this will 'blow' you away!" Bree shouted, tossing it at her. Alice tried to match energy for energy, but was horrified to find that her attack was caught by Bree's and continued on back to her, causing a massive explosion that propelled her several yards back. She skipped along the forest floor a couple times before landing facedown in the dirt. She vaguely registered that the girl landed a few feet away from her as she tried to roll over on her back. "Heh, if you're this weak, then this battle will be a breeze," she mocked.

"Not before you run out of those stupid puns!" Alice retorted, suddenly rolling to her feet and releasing another energy blast, this time connecting squarely into Bree's chest and sliding her back several feet before it dissipated.

"Come on! Is that all you got?" she taunted back, shaking it off like it had been nothing. "Here's a real attack. Gale Force!" She put her wrists together horizontally and a tornado of energy and air rushed at Alice.

Before it could reach her, though, a voice called out, "Shadow Gate!" A black hole opened just inches in front of Alice, as Bree's attack was sucked into it.

"I was wondering when you'd show yourself!" Bree shouted into the air, not looking the least bit shaken. "I picked up your presence through the wind before I even started this battle. Show yourself, Sage of Shadows!"

"Impa?" Alice whispered hesitantly, not daring to hope for relief.

"I'm here, child," a voice softly said, materializing in front of her and in a battle position with her dagger held out in front for defense.

"So, shall we move on to round two?" Bree laughed tauntingly. "I'm so glad that I can take both of you down right here and now!" As she was about to attack, though, a chiming sound filled the air and she pulled a small device out of the pocket of her sweats. "Oh, give me a break! What does he want now?" she asked in an exasperated tone, tossing the small device on the ground.

Out of it arose a holographic image of a man. He seemed rather tall, if his long slender legs were any indication, but also rather round around his midsection. He wore a black jumpsuit that was underneath a large, long-sleeve, red pullover jacket that had a couple of white stripes that went horizontally along the back and stopped at golden buttons. Running vertically down the sleeves were also white stripes that ended at the golden cuffs, which were rolled up once. He was completely bald except for his large, wild, red mustache, and a pair of gray goggles rested atop his head. His eyebrows arched menacingly and stopped at the blue rimless glasses he was wearing, which rested on his big pink nose and hid his eyes. At the moment his white-gloved hands were balled into fists, and an impatient look plastered on his round face. "What is taking so long, Bree? A.D.A.M told me that the squadron I sent out had been destroyed almost fifteen minutes ago! What on Mobius is going on there?" he shouted roughly.

"I had a bit of…trouble…that I'm cleaning up. Don't worry, though, once I'm through here I'll head back," she replied tensely.

"Forget that," he commanded. "We're moving onto the next phase. Return to Station Square immediately."

Alice and Impa almost thought the girl was going to explode, but she heaved a forced sigh and calmly replied, "Yes, Dr. Robotnik. As you wish." Discreetly, she tossed a small ball of energy, causing the device to explode before turning back to them. "Don't get the wrong idea; this isn't over," she said threateningly. "I only follow him because Master Ganondorf commanded me to, but once I get a chance I will be back for you!" Without another word, she took off into the air. Alice was about to give chase, but Impa held her back.

"That wouldn't be the wisest move you've ever made," she replied. "You and I both know that she's too powerful for the both of us. Luck was the only thing that saved us today."

Alice didn't say anything, but it was clear that she was upset because of her weakness. She had trained so hard and yet she still couldn't measure up. What would Noel say? _'He'd probably tell me not to worry about it, first,'_ she thought. _'And then he'd remind me that he didn't want me fighting in the first place.'_ Thinking about it didn't lighten her mood any, and when she finally did snap out of her thoughts she noticed Impa had vanished into the shadows and the three animals had caught up with her again.

She was about to open her mouth to speak, but the king cut her off. "Despite the million questions I have right now, they can wait until later, after you've cleaned yourself up. We'll have a few servants set up a bath for you and show you your room," he said.

"Wait…you're still going to trust me?" she asked, perplexed. He simply turned and nodded, looking her eye to eye.

"Truth be told, you never lied to us to begin with, and I understand why you would want to keep your…abilities…secret, otherwise we might suspect you as an enemy. I would still suspect you, but you did save our kingdom after all, so this is the least I can do in thanks. I will want to know what's going on, though," he replied. "In the meantime, though, we haven't fully introduced ourselves. I am King Elias Acorn, son of Max and Alicia Acorn, and this is my sister…"

"Sally," the female chipmunk said. "And the blue hedgehog with the too-cool-for-my-own-good attitude here is Sonic."

"Are you able to get back to the castle on your own?" Elias asked. She nodded as she took a step forward, only to fall to her knees in dizziness. Though the battle hadn't been long and the wounds minor, her clothes were charred because of the flammable oil and the adrenaline had left her body, leaving her drained of energy more than usual. She tried to keep her eyes open, but eventually she succumbed to the darkness.

A/N: Well, I don't have too much to say. I'm sort of satisfied with the action, but it was mainly a group fight and it's hard to write those; I'm saving the major fight until later. Please leave me a review on the way out, whether you liked it or not. I'd really like to hear how I'm doing on this and how I can improve.

I'm currently revising my older chapters and will post the changes once I'm done, along with a note telling what changes I made. That won't be finished for awhile, though, and each new chapter I release gives me more work to do. Anyways, catch ya all next chapter!


End file.
